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Speculation is always rife at the beginning of the transfer window, and despite only being a 'mid table' Barclays Premier League side, West Ham United still manage to receive an inordinate amount of press coverage. The club has been linked with just about every player who has a pulse! So who are the real targets and who are just part of the 'smoke and mirrors' syndrome that usually occurs around season ticket renewal time?

Great things were expected from both Toni Martinez and Martin Samuelson a couple of seasons ago, both were sent out on loan by Manuel Pellegrini during his first season in charge, and both have failed to live up to their expectations spectacularly. Along with Reece Oxford and Saeed Hakserbanovic Martinez and Samuelson were supposed to be the future of the club, but it was a future built on suspect foundations.

You can always tell when there is a quiet week for the Barclays Premier League, especially at the beginning of the transfer window, writers desperate to provide column inches vie for readers by providing any news they can to fill the vacuum, some more than others never let the truth get in the way of a good story.