Kyle Awaits Conundrum In Summer

For the first time under Potter’s reign, West Ham received a week off from football after being knocked out of the FA Cup.

The breaks allowed our players to rest and recover while also letting us have a well-deserved break from all the abysmal decisions being made.

Despite it being a week off, I doubt it’s a quiet one.

Potter has been taking an interest in the under-18s after attending our victory against Manchester United on penalties to reach the FA Cup youth semi-final, a remarkable achievement and yet again emphasising how good our academy truly is.

Kyle, on the other hand, I could only assume that he’s out and about doing his homework and getting a move on with the summer ahead.

We’ve currently got three players in on loan, two of whom we have to decide on in the summer. Jean-Clair Todibo will sign for West Ham in the summer if all obligation clauses are fulfilled, and the final obligation to be completed is the need to avoid relegation.

Therefore, most likely, we will have the obligation fee triggered, which is reportedly £30,000,000.

Carlos Soler and Evan Ferguson are the other two loans we have. The club have held brief talks with PSG about the purchase of Carlos Soler, and it is around the £15,000,000 mark it would cost the club to sign him permanently..

Evan Ferguson is too early to call, but Brighton wanted £40,000,000 in January for him. Let’s see what that valuation is come summer time.

In addition to the expiring loans, we also have FIVE players who are out of contract.

Lucasz Fabianski, Aaron Cresswell, Michail Antonio, Vladimir Coufal and Danny Ings.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Cresswell’s time over at the club. Emerson has retained his starting Left-back position, and Ollie Scarles has been introduced since. However, he could well be kept due to leadership and how significant of a figure he is in the dressing room.

Big Micky will most likely be given another year’s contract. I’d suspect that to be the same for Fabo, but the idea of him hanging up his gloves could always happen, given his age and career.

Uncle Ingy’s only hope in receiving a new contract would be for him to accept a MASSIVE reduction, but I think for the greater good of the club as well as our souls, it’s time to close this chapter.

Vlad’s attracted a lot of attention elsewhere. Fenerbache have been long-term admirers of him, and Fulham had a deadline day offer declined for him.

Regarding the loans, we’ve got notably: Aguerd, Marshall, Potts and Earthy all returning, which gives us a big boost. It’d be expected for them all to be utilised or sold.

Potts is currently loving life in the Championship and currently holds the number one spot with the most ball recoveries in an opponent’s half, with 136. (U23s only).

He will surely be used next year after having two consecutive loans, proving himself in both.

But even with our return of loans, as well as some of our loans expiring, it’s going to be an active window, that’s for sure.

Numerous outgoings, as well as many incomings, need to be made if we truly want to steer this ship in the right direction.

Potter, Kyle and the rest of the crew have a big summer job on their hands, and despite our mass activity in the previous summer window… If you put two and two together, you can easily recognise that we, yet again, need a revitalisation of our defence most importantly.

Tough work for the pair of them, but given the loyalty they have, if anyone can help steer the ship in the right direction, it's Kyle.