West Ham Must Capitalize on Free Business this Summer

Following what will likely have been a rather disappointing season West Ham will need to do some work reshaping the squad in the summer.

A very positive thing is that the squad does have some young talents who will be around for the future and West Ham should be looking towards it. Another positive is that a lot of the necessary business that West Ham need to do this summer they can do for little to money. The list of free transfers available this off-season is rather strange in terms of its depth.

First let’s address the needs that West Ham have at the moment. The team needs a right back, a central midfielder, a creative force to alleviate weight on Lanzini and Snodgrass and then a striker. To put it lightly, there are a lot of holes. The right back issue is ridiculous and West Ham simply should have solved this sooner. The central midfield is something that I have gone on about for a long time. The midfield at West Ham is too pedestrian. Sure there’s a lot of steel and clout there but no spark, no genius, no air of elegance or magic. Finally as we saw with he-who-shall-not-be-named’s slump the team cannot put all its creative weight on one person. Then finally, to win games you need goals. Andy Carroll is too content to sit on the bench and Ayew will need a legitimate partner.

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Right back, in the free agent market West Ham should make a move for Pablo Zabaleta. He is a model professional and an international footballer of repute. He has become a hero to the fans at Manchester City and deservedly so. He’s a tough player who is also excellent on the ball and keeps his teammates playing to as high a standard as he can. If West Ham are intent on doing free business this is the way to go this summer.

The Options

In central midfield available this summer is a litany of options. Michael Carrick (though Manchester United will have actually gone mad if he is allowed to leave), Santi Cazorla, Mathieu Flamini and Charlie Adam are all available. Any single one of these players would be a useful addition to the team. They’re Premier League experienced and can pass a ball just as well as they can win one back. West Ham need to start focusing on players with some passing ability. This simply cannot be stressed enough.

As for a simple creative addition Jesus Navas is available as Guardiola has pushed him to the fringes of the team at Manchester City and his contract is running down. The former Sevilla star is happy with life in England and perhaps suggesting to him that Europe’s capital and the cultural weight of London are worth experimenting with instead of continuing up north.

Next: Irons should target Solanke

Finally a striker is needed. Fraizer Campbell is available as is Arouna Kone. The player that I think West Ham should chase though is Dominic Solanke the Chelsea youth team player. He’s one of the best youth players I have ever scouted and Chelsea are being beyond stupid by not re-signing him. West Ham should capitalize on this by promising him a starting spot.

Or at least 75% of matches the way that Sir Alex convinced the young Ronaldo to join Manchester United instead of going to Italy or Spain by promising him the necessary 50% to develop. Solanke has been compared to Zlatan Ibrahimovic on many occasions and he would add a level of class to the West Ham strike force that has not been present in literally years.

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