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Alright, West Ham’s window is over… now what?

By Adam Smith

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 12: Samir Nasri of West Ham United looks on as he walks out prior to the Premier League match between West Ham United and Arsenal FC at London Stadium on January 12, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 12: Samir Nasri of West Ham United looks on as he walks out prior to the Premier League match between West Ham United and Arsenal FC at London Stadium on January 12, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images) /
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West Ham concludes the January transfer window with two signings, one for now and one for the future, leaving the team still shallow and lacking reinforcements. What’s next for West Ham as the season continues on?

Outgoings

A little light in comparison to what we were told, but West Ham only moved out two players on loan deals in January. That means the Lucas Perez, Andy Carroll, and Javier Hernandez are still Hammers and will still be relied upon to make an impact in the first team.

The first outgoing was predictable – Reece Oxford. The once wunderkind turned bad attitude flop has again been sent to Germany on a 6-month loan deal. As he joins Augsburg temporarily the manager will likely hope that he impresses enough to encourage his new team to buy him outright as his time is clearly up at West Ham. Shame really.

The second is a positive move for one of West Ham’s bright academy prospects. Alongside a Manchester United academy striker, Oladapo Afolayan has joined Oldham Athletic on a 6-month loan deal. Afolayan will look to steal away as many first team minutes as he can as the 21-year-old needs to prove his worth sooner rather than later. This move should help secure that.

Incomings

One early and one later. One for now and one for the future. Both not really what West Ham supporters but nonetheless the skipper is happy and so to should we be without panic buys or unnecessary loans to bandaid issues.

Samir Nasri was the worst kept transfer secret in the world as his former manager, Pellegrini, brought him in to earn a spot in training ahead of his ended doping ban. Once the clock struck twelve on January 2st, Nasri signed and played immediately for West Ham, impressing every time he’s been on the pitch.

Now injured (somehow), Nasri will miss the Liverpool match leaving West Ham supporters dumbfounded about his already injured start to his West Ham campaign. Irons.

Apparently, we should really all not forget the name Mesaque Dju. The Portuguese winger/striker is just 19-years old and is certainly a prospect of the future. He, like Xande Silva, is a signing that has resulted from the strong relationships Manuel Pellegrini is establishing in Portugal. The deal was a free transfer on a 2 1/2 year contract that will see Benfica get 50% of the sell on value from West Ham.

The Outlook

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The real “silver lining” in all of this is that West Ham didn’t sell players for cut prices just to make room for loan bandaid fixes, and they didn’t dip into the summer transfer funds at a time where player prices are inflated. It’s frustrating seeing the Hammers’ first team so depleted, but another silver lining may be around the corner.

Manuel Lanzini, Andriy Yarmolenko, Jack Wilshere, Fabian Balbuena. All four are rumored to be back and playing for West Ham this season. At the end of February, I believe we’ll see both Lanzini and Wilshere in the squad and Yarmolenko could possibly be a recruit for the last month of play this season.

Balbuena is the most important of the returning players and I have to believe that he’s close to returning seeing as Pellegrini opted to not bring in a first team player to bolster their centre-back ranks.

It could be a long season ahead, but the squad  has the raw skill to keep contending for a European spot. The Irons went on a terrific run in December and look to mimic that again in the second half with returning stars speckling their calendar, giving the opposition more to contend with. Time to earn it!