There has been a lot of talk relating to West Ham United's potential transfer activity ever since it became blatantly obvious that club captain Declan Rice would be moving on to pursue his Champions League dreams. There has been SO MUCH noise surrounding Rice's potential transfer and destination that the main topic seems to have escaped attention.
Of course the Rice story is massive and he is essentially irreplaceable, but the team HAS to move forward so their is no point in crying over the spilled milk, things have to continue no matter what. Despite splashing the cash in a big way at the beginning of the season, the board has seen little by way of return, with injuries to the new signings playing havoc with David Moyes' plans.
First Aguerd, then Cornet, then Scamacca and then Pacqueta ALL picked up injuries that ranged from fairly serious to incredibly serious! Cornet has hardly had a kick ALL season and Scamacca had only a meagre few games before eventually going under the surgeon's knife.
So 'going again' in the transfer market will NOT be as easy as some fans think, not because there might be intransigence when it comes to further spending by the owners, but because the FFP restrictions that have so often been ignored or avoided by clubs are starting to get implemented right across Europe.
FIFA have confirmed the transfer window in England will open on June the 14th, teams will be able to agree terms with players and clubs over possible signings, but they won't be official until the start of July. Any international deals will not go through until the start of July, meaning only domestic deals can be officially completed. These dates allow clubs like West Ham, who are still in European competitions the breathing space to play their final games before the window opens.
If and it is an enormous if, Hammers win the 2023 UEFA Europa Conference League final which is due to be played at the Fortuna Arena in Prague on June the 7th, then the club would be back in Europe for a third season running. Apart from the Kudos and financial gain, recruiting new players would be that bit easier. Additional recruits would most definitely be needed if the club is to 'endure' another gruelling play on Thursday and Sunday schedule that is requisite for European competition.
So the outcome of the final in Prague WILL DICTATE Hammers transfer activity to a massive degree, win it and the club is in Europe, lose it and the club won't be in Europe. In a way it is a double edged sword, but Europe holds sway with players and fans alike, European games under the lights once acquired is a taste to savour and one that fans would prefer to retain...it is called progress!
The 2023/24 season kicks off on Saturday August the 12th, so clubs will have just over two weeks between the first game of the season and the transfer deadline, which is Friday September the 1st at 11pm. There will be plenty of ins and outs at West Ham, some welcome, some not.
There is the slight matter of the club's most important game in over fifty years to play, in a venue decided upon by fools who have not a care in the World about the possible consequences of trying to fit fans from both clubs into a tiny Stadium IN PRAGUE that only has a capacity of LESS THAN A THIRD OF West Ham's own ground! Chaos will be the best outcome but we fear a lot worse, hopefully the cheap beer will be so plentiful it will stop people from wanting to fight.
We live in hope!-LN
