As of Monday morning, Rafael Benitez will be leaving Newcastle. Rafa was on a number of occasions, linked to come to West Ham United but the pieces never fell. The Hammers have also been linked to a number of Magpie players so with Rafa leaving, what does that mean for West Ham?
The three main players that have had links between Newcastle and West Ham were Salomon Rondon, Isaac Hayden, and Jonjo Shelvey. Rondon obviously to secure a top forward, a much-needed piece for the Hammers, and Hayden and Shelvey so lock up the midfield for years to come.
Not even 24 hours into the news of Rafa being let go and the links are heating up as players might look to depart from a bad situation. As the title of this article insists, I would warn West Ham to not rush into these deals because they don’t necessarily need any of them or almost any of them.
Salomon Rondon
Starting with him might seem a bit contradicting to the title or almost, but alas. As previously talked about in another article, West Ham must offload Chicharito or it would be pointless to bring in another star forward.
Rondon is linked to be the next forward up if Maxi Gomez falls through but for me, it’s a tough comparison especially when you look at the stats as the one doesn’t compare.
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On the season, Chicharito played 28 total matches scoring 8 times and assisting 3. He did singlehandedly help secure at least 9 points from his performances this season even if he’s a shadow of the player he used to be but might thrive in a more attack-heavy offense which could happen this year.
For Rondon, his stats don’t lie at all. He played a total of 33 matches, 12 goals, and 7 assists. On a statistically lesser side, he dominated and it would be assumed that if we were with the stars of West Ham, he would do even better. However, I wouldn’t rush into this just because of club turmoil.
Hayden and Shelvey
You can find a lot of similarities when it comes to these two. Both have international experience under their belts. Both are box to box midfielders that can get up and down the midfield with ease. Both are in their mid to late 20’s and coming into their prime, and both have question marks.
Between the two of them, they have played in 46 matches combined scoring 2 times and assisting 5 times as well. West Ham could use someone of their calibers but once again, it doesn’t make sense. The Hammers have two young Academy grads in Coventry and Cullen that should be given the chance when the time arises as West Ham don’t need a starting midfielder but someone to be waiting in the wings.
I do trust that Pellegrini and Co have gotten their strategies down and know that they will look into this situation well, however, I don’t think that we should jump in just because of the current situation up North. My point in all this is that if they weren’t first choice transfers for West Ham before, they shouldn’t be now.