Written by Corey Evans (twitter – CoreyEvans83)

Firstly, I believe that for the first time in a while, the board deserves praise for the appointment of Manuel Pellegrini. His impressive track record includes many trophies and also the ability to work with limited budgets such as Malaga and also at highly demanding clubs such as Man City. Most importantly, during his time managing in Europe he has never fallen outside of the Champions or Europe League which is imperative for a club trying to move onto the ‘next level’ like West Ham. For me, it is now imperative that the board give him the funds to manoeuvre this squad and allow him to put his own ideas into it. If the board fail to carry out this task, we could be in this same position in twelve months time.

Moving on to the section in which most Irons fans take most notice at (the transfer window), I believe we will see many ins and outs with some extremely exciting signings. Starting in goal, with Joe Hart’s loan finishing means it is essential we get a keeper to push Adrian throughout the season. Many reports have linked us with Jack Butland and although he is a fantastic keeper I believe the money would be spent better elsewhere. I recommend signing Kasper Schmeichel in the region of 15m if we could prize him away from Leicester. Many would think this is unrealistic but I personally think that Leicester are being remembered for their title winning season and not as a mid table team which they are. The chance to potentially play in Europe again with Pellegrini may tease Schmeichel and with the likes of Mahrez and Vardy tipped to leave it could be a season of transition for the ‘Foxes’.

I expect to see many departures within the defence for West Ham this season. With Collins and Evra coming to the end of their contracts I expect to see Byram, Burke and Oxford all leave permanently. I hope that ‘Ginger Pele’ will return as a coach and I am shocked, embarrassed and disgusted by how badly he’s been treated by the club, as are all fellow Hammers fans. All three youngsters (Byram, Burke and Oxford) have showed promise at times but I feel it is the right time for them to move on and free up some cash (maybe 15-20m for the three combined) for better replacements who can add more quality to our squad.

I would go all out for Swansea defender Alfie Mawson. I think he has great leadership qualities and could go on to be England’s captain for years to come. Similarly to Collins, he has the ability to defend (which is a dying art these days) and put his body on the line. However, he can also play out from the back which I feel will be a necessary with Pellegrini in charge. I also think Cedric of Southampton would be a great addition as Pellegrini demands full backs that have pace and can get up and down the pitch. Zabaleta was great in my eyes last season but is now another year older and Cedric would provide much competition for the right back spot.

Moving onto the midfield, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the exits of Snodgrass (10m), Fernandes (10m) and also youngsters Cullen (1-2m) and Haksabanovic (2m) leave the club. We also have to consider that Joao Mario’s loan deal has now come to an end.

Taking this into consideration, I feel we need a two central midfielders and one wide player. The two central players I think we should move for are Stoke’s Joe Allen and free agent Ki-Seung Yeung (previously of Swansea City). Allen who would cost roughly 20m has the ability to read the game, run his socks off and distribute the ball when needed. I believe he is one of the most underrated midfielders in the Prem and didn’t get a fair chance at Liverpool. Whilst, Ki would be a great addition on a free to add more competition along with the likes of Noble, Kouyate and Obiang. However, I would not be surprised to see one of Kouyate/Obiang leave this summer.

The wide midfielder in my opinion should be either Shaqiri of Stoke or Traore of Middlesborough. Both have the ability to play on the counter attack and both possess lightening pace (something which our squad needs). They would both cost around 15m and I think Traore is more realistic due to Shaqiri having many clubs monitoring him however he would be a massive coup for the club and he would be reunited with our ‘Hammer of the Year’ Arnautovic.

With regards to attackers, I believe we will see very little movement unless Pellegrini decides to move on Carroll. His quality is unquestionable when fit but with twelve months left on his contract the club may want to cash in. If so, I would fully expect Rondon of West Brom to be brought in as he was a key player under Pellegrini at Malaga. Hernandez looks set to stay and I think this is great news as he is one of the best strikers we’ve ever had because of his natural goal scoring instincts. The only player I expect to definitely leave upfront is Jordan Hugill and if we could recoup around 6-7m of what we spent I would take it.

Overall, my signings I believe would cost around 80m and I think this is attainable with Pellegrini given 50m to spend and an extra 30m through player sales. I also feel that if we could sign Mawson, Allen or both we could be looking at our Hammer of the Year for the 2018/19 season.

Ones to Watch:

Interestingly, Mario Balotelli, Max Meyer and Oğuzhan Özyakup contracts are all expiring in the summer and have all previously been linked with us before. I think Balotelli seems to have calmed down in recent years and his goal scoring form has improved despite only playing in the French league. With regards to Meyer, I think this would be a statement of intent from the board and Meyer has expressed an interest in playing in the Premier League. Meyer has unbelievable potential and could go on to become one of the best players within Europe.

Finally, I think it is a time to be excited ahead of next season. I really believe we can push on and attain 7th place with hopefully a good cup run. If the fans can galvanise around Pellegrini and make the London Stadium a tough place to visit then the good times and the ‘West Ham Way’ may well return. Would love to hear your thoughts on this article, COME ON YOU IRONS!!!

Written by Corey Evans (twitter – CoreyEvans83)