Having 'sold' or virtually given Sebastien Haller away nearly TWO years ago, Hammers manager David Moyes has searched far and wide to find a striker that he considers 'fit for purpose'. Thus far the search has proved fruitless with more blind alleys than a Mayfair exit on a Pride day attended by over 1,000,000 people!
Having refused to sign up to the previous smoke and mirror edicts of GSB, Moyes has elected to keep his powder dry and ONLY purchase players he actually wants. Sounds simple doesn't it? Unfortunately there is little that is simple in the way 'elite' football teams are run, except ON the pitch where it is still 11 v 11 unless you are a 'top' club, at which point it is invariably 11 v 10 in your favour thanks to the officials being the beneficiaries of some kind of 'thanks'.
Having secured Areola on a permanent deal, signed Aguerd to strengthen the back line and Flynn Downes to bolster the midfield, Moyes is now focusing on bringing in an attacking midfielder, a left back and of course the Elephant in the room that has been there so long it has virtually attained squatter's rights, a striker!
Even if Moyes fills ALL those positions he will still be left with a bare bones squad for the coming season, now it is common knowledge within the club that Moyes has 'enormous' faith in many of the youth players who are now a year older and more capable of being selected AND not being thrown to the Lions if they do play.
Teams with even an inkling of wanting to compete near the top of the Premier League need at least TWO top players available for every position, preferably three! However keeping so many players happy is a battle in itself, so it makes good sense to 'feature' as many youth players as possible, players who won't have the hump and throw a strop if NOT selected.
So when reading about the 1,000th player supposedly 'interesting' the club it is worth bearing in mind that whether you like it or not West Ham are NOT a top club, yet. Without being bank rolled by a Pariah state a club like West Ham can ONLY proceed effectively by utilising their youth players in a similar way to the Red Bull clubs whose business plan is greatly admired by Moyes.
Having waited so long, it is surely worthwhile waiting a bit longer to see if some of Moyes' targets are acquired, what would Irons' fans prefer, smoke and mirrors or genuine results? Journalists make a living out of the 'divide and conquer' aspect of sport, make gans jelous and they have a habit of 'wishing false truths' which of course means trawling the media until they find something they want to believe.
Rather wait a while longer than get involved in trying to sign one hit wonders like Beraton-Diaz, far better to fight tooth and nail to get Broja from Chelsea, yes some decent players will slip through the net, but others with fire in their belly are around, THEY are the type of players Hammers need, the club has had enough of 'big time charlies' and 'big time losers'. - LN
