Forum | General Discussion

West Ham United achieved a draw against Crystal Palace, but the nil-nil scoreline certainly wasn’t representative of the game.

West Ham regained the two-point buffer to the Spuds after they were denied an extra two thanks to Brighton’s last-gasp equaliser. Numerous players fought their hardest today in the hope of gaining three points, but it unfortunately wasn’t meant to be.

In the first half, West Ham proved to be on top; numerous chances went for both sides, but the ones with the most intent went West Ham’s way. Two golden opportunities occurred, one for Taty and one for Dino, but both would be kept out; it seemed as if nothing would get past Dean Henderson this evening.

We headed into halftime with hope, but Palace came out all guns blazing for the second half. They utilised the pressure from the crowd and hit us on our weak spots.

Fortunately, the defensive masterclass from both Disasi and Dinos was enough to keep Palace out, bar Mateta’s hidden attempt at a tennis-like pass, which was swiftly disallowed, but apart from that, the threat certainly was there, but it had little to no intent.

It certainly wasn’t the most glamorous or mesmerising of results for Nuno’s side, but it was a performance where there are aspects of positivity to take.

Focus returns to Saturday, where Moyesiah returns to the London Stadium and where, in reality, West Ham need a win if they want to bolster their chances at Premier League survival.

Nuno Espirito Santo was dealt with a tricky task upon walking into West Ham United, a side that consisted of broken hearts, shattered confidence barriers and a stone age regime that ultimately aspired for the depths of the relegation zone.

Upon joining West Ham, Nuno made it known that we needed to improve overall, but specifically, we needed to improve defensively. It took numerous games and trials, but eventually we got there. Injuries struck us below the belt, long-term injuries to Mavropanos and Scarles, as well as Diouf and Wan-Bissaka away at AFCON, West Ham inevitably struggled immensely… as anyone would!

January was when it all changed. Disasi was brought in on loan, which triggered the alarm bell for everyone else in the squad, and since then, it appears to have all changed, and Nuno, in the event West Ham stay up, has already made his ideas clear in what he’d want for the upcoming season.

Unsurprisingly, Nuno is very keen to see Disasi in a West Ham shirt next season and is in favour of lining him up alongside Konstantinos Mavropanos, who has turned a corner since Nuno’s arrival. This corner turned being executed to the highest of shocks, it has subsequently warranted the hierarchy to want to offer the Trojan Horse a contract extension, with his current deal running out in 2028.

The ideal central defenders Nuno would like to have at the club next year are Todibo, Disasi and Mavropanos.

Despite what many thought would be a hearty reunion, Nuno isn’t a fan of Max Kilman, and it has emerged between all parties that an exit in the summer will be the best for everyone. West Ham do not expect to recoup anywhere near the mad money that was paid for the Englishman initially, but are hopeful in recouping some funds, which will inevitably be put towards Disasi’s permanent deal.

Staying up will be crucial for the Hammers to stick with this plan, but once safety is secured, the plan of action will begin to form.

West Ham currently ranks 17th in the Premier League, but stands a mesmerising 5th in the Premier League table from January 17th onwards, achieving 18 points since then, just a mere three points from both Manchester City and Arsenal in the same time period.

Time will tell, but it's certainly encouraging for Hammers fans to see a foundation beginning to be laid.

West Ham have allegedly been on the edge of signing numerous ‘World Class prospects’ across the last two decades, some of which were signed and turned poor, whereas others weren’t signed and went on to live up to their full potential.

News has indicated that the Hammers are interested in Barcelona prospect Marc Cassado. The Spanish international has recently informed the Barcelona hierarchy that he would be looking for a move away due to the limited game time he’s receiving. The Spaniard is highly rated by Barcelona fans, who say manager Hansi Flick needs to find a solution, as they cannot lose him.

Numerous teams are said to be interested, but game time is key, so Spurs and West Ham are seemingly at the forefront in comparison to Manchester United and Chelsea, but the reports are far-fetched.

Barcelona value the ‘talent’ at around £18,000,000, and a move for him could be easily completed, as per some sources, but that seems highly unlikely.

Whilst it’s a scout’s job to search for the next big player, there is a high doubt that the club are looking this intensely to sign players, given our current League status and with the future as a current unknown.

Not to mention that due to the World Cup being this year, transfer business tends to take a toll and become much slower as teams prefer to see what their squad will look like upon everyone’s return and what injuries could have occurred, etc.

Transfer twaddle with six games remaining… give it a rest! There’ll be more exits than incomings, but those roundabouts are to be taken at the end of the campaign - time will tell.