Do West Ham need to dip into the transfer market?

West Ham are in the best shape they’ve been in years. Good form, strong squad and a brilliant manager. Do they need to be active in the January Transfer Window?

It’s usually around this time of year that West Ham fans are writing a list of which players would be best for each position that needs strengthening. But this year we’ve had an amazing December, despite injuries to key players, and the side looks to be going from strength to strength. I’m going to suggest something strange, but we don’t need to be active this January.

I know I know, it’s a pretty weird suggestion for the Hammers. Usually we’re looking for at least 3 players, one who can score goals, one who can stop them and one who can do a bit of both. But with the squad makeup we have, and the strength in depth we’ve shown, I don’t think we need to panic. In fact, unless a brilliant offer comes up, I suggest we don’t look to do anything at all.

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It’s already been confirmed, or pretty close to it, that Samir Nasri is going to join the club on a free transfer in January. He worked will Pellegrini at City and the Chilean wants more attacking midfield options. But once he’s in, what do we really need? Well it’s been suggested we need some full back upgrades and a dynamic midfielder. But where do we get those in January?

Who is going to be selling a full back that improves our squad at a reasonable price halfway through the season? Not only do clubs not want to sell to rivals, but they don’t want to leave themselves short either. As such, we’re probably looking at a non-premier League club with a multitude of full back options, or a Premier League club in financial difficulty. Because I doubt our owners will want to pay over the odds for a player rather than wait a few months and negotiate for longer in the summer.

And Pellegrini won’t want to disrupt his settled squad just to see what happens. Whilst Antonio doesn’t like playing right back, he has shown he can. We have cover in most major positions and a youth side that is bursting with talent. Buying in backup players just pushes these players down the pecking order, and I don’t think any Hammers fan wants that to happen.

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Following that chain of thought, I can’t see West Ham being particularly active this January. Some many disagree, but mid-season transfers are historically over priced and ineffective. Our squad doesn’t need emergency, stop gap replacements. As such, we should ignore the January melee.