Forum | General Discussion

Going to Manchester City is never easy and securing a win there is even harder, so difficult that we haven’t done it since 2014!

Manchester City’s moveable training manikins were announced at 13:45, and the sight of Max Kilman starting saw dim worries darken. The fate up in the clouds had ultimately been decided, and from minute one, it felt like damage limitation rather than competition and come the end of the match, those initial thought would prove to be true as in the 79th minute Nuno decided to bring on two defensive players and accept the fact we weren’t going to comeback from three... not a surprise really?

Collasal defending, dismal clearances and a weak mindset saw us concede three, with the first coming through Haaland just 5 minutes in. A quicker reaction time compared to all of our defenders and Ollie Scarles being brutally overwhelmed on his Premier League return ended as a horror show given the players he had to mark. No help, no action and with Max doing the Min, Scarles was left to mark Foden and Haaland alone, which quite possibly would be a difficult task for any defender in the Premier League to take on, but his horror would only last till the 64th minute as he was dragged off due to another injury.

It’s an alarming performance by all means. There were a handful of moments where West Ham had a chance or two, but even if they ended up in the back of the net it wouldn’t have been enough. The alarming factor is that there’s no hope of an attack being formed and that’s exactly what fans are worried about, it’s the looking at other relegation candidates and seeing how Leeds came to the Etihad and gave them a run for their money, Nuno’s side weren’t able to do that in the slightest.

Comical defending for the third as defenders tackled like they were a Pizza cuter! Though not the correct piece of equipment, it would’ve been fitting to be in the Butchers, as that’s how it feels going into games as such, a brutal blow against Villa and a dismissive defeat against City leaves us 18th in the League along with a burnt chicken.

Results from the next four games have to be achieved for West Ham otherwise it’ll be the second tier for next season. Missery served for Sullivan come Christmas and a costly January is needed because if Nuno isn’t given any late presents that he wants, the Hammers will be in for a tough ride for the remaining 21 fixtures.

West Ham finally decided to start opening the doors early in a transfer window, which isn’t the usual way business tends to be done in East London, but it’s certainly something to be glad about.

Nichlas Fulkrug’s exit from the Hammers has always seemed imminent from the moment this season started, and everything began to plummet once his agent revealed that he ‘made the wrong choice’… not the choice of words that would make you popular amongst a fanbase, that’s for sure!

Thankfully, there’s actually a handful of clubs that are interested in Fulkrug, with the leading team to be Italian giant AC Milan, who have already agreed personal terms with ze German and are now offering a loan with an option to buy deal, but Sly Sully isn’t going to be accepting anything less than an obligation.

AC Milan are currently fighting for the League title in Serie A and are in dire need of a forward after Mexican international, Santiago Giminez has gotten injured for the foreseeable future and needs ankle surgery, so it is expected that this deal will go through, however, in the event that it doesn’t, there’s 5 Bundesliga clubs interested in Fulkrug, but ironically the German isn’t interested in a move back to Germany.

The deal is at an advanced stage and AC Milan are prepared to “go all in” for the forward. It's just the finer details that need to be ironed out and given the way the deal has played out so far, it seems West Ham will get their way, given how dire the Italian’s are at the minute.

The only two questions that remain for West Ham are how much we can recoup for him, as well as who will be the replacement for him? But with an array of targets on the horizon, you’d anticipate they’d be fulfilled towards the front of the window, rather than the back-end, as the norm usually is and regarding the fee, the club would be lucky to get half of the £27,500,000 that was initially paid.

The Hammers have now identified three targets that they’ll test the waters with and determine what deals can be put together.

Two of these targets are from the Championship, with one being from the League leaders in Coventry City, Haji Wright, and the other being from 23rd place Norwich City, in Joshua Sargent. Both forwards are set to be tempted by the Hammers, but the club would have to cough up a fee in the region of £20,000,000.

It’s certainly challenging to tempt a player away from a club that looks destined to be promoted therefore, Sargent is the one who could likely end up being a much easier and cheaper deal.

Many seem to persistently allude that we should poach Championship clubs rather than looking elsewhere in Europe, but it begs the question: is it worth it? Haji Wright has scored 8 goals within 17 matches and Sargent has scored 6 in 20! It’s not exactly the flashiest of stats and one that would suggest Premier League survival, it appears to be preparation for the worst, such admirable ambition!

However, the suspected third and final target is Adama Traore from Fulham, whom Nuno is ‘keen’ to link up with once again. Whilst the fee is unknown, Traore is running into his last six months left on his contract, so if a deal were struck, it would come at a reasonable price and given that Nuno knows how to use him, it could certainly prove to be a healthy acquisition.

The Adama Traore signing would be a more additional body in the door, but the Championship striker targets would be to replace the departing Nichlas Fulkrug, seeing as AC Milan are the leaders in interest after suffering significant injury blows elsewhere, they’re now keen to get a deal over the line as quickly as possible.

The targets and suspected signings don’t scream optimism, but at this given moment, beggars can’t be choosers and it’s either no one or a someone, so the latter will have to be accepted.

All that Hammers fans can now hope for is the signings to be completed early doors and not in time for next Christmas, that’d be handy!