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3 Reasons why West Ham would benefit from the season being cancelled

By Adam Smith

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 14: General view of the London Statium, home of West Ham United. All Premier League matches are postponed until at least April 3rd due to the Coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic at The London Stadium on March 14, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 14: General view of the London Statium, home of West Ham United. All Premier League matches are postponed until at least April 3rd due to the Coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic at The London Stadium on March 14, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images) /
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With the status of the Premier League currently up in the air due to the global pandemic coronavirus, the inevitable end to the season could be an outright cancellation. This would do wonders for West Ham.

For West Ham, surviving after an atrocious drop off of in team form under Manuel Pellegrini and nonsensical loyalty to him by the board is enough success. But, for three levels – the players, the manager, and the board, surviving this season will be monumental, even if it is by way of cancellation.

The Players

If the season is null and void, the Hammers stay up. This means no mass exodus of key players, the right to search the lower leagues and leagues abroad for new players to enter the team, and for fringe players to depart to a place where playing time isn’t as much of a luxury.

Firstly, let’s talk about player retention. As mentioned, there will be no exodus of elite players from West Ham should the season be cancelled. Jarrod Bowen‘s relegation release fee won’t be triggered and Tomas Soucek‘s deal will have the option to be made permanent (and East London will burn if it isn’t). The links Declan Rice leaving for Chelsea are concerning, but I have faith that he’ll remain, even if it is blind or dumb faith!

Secondly, we have new players being brought in. We’ve highlighted a few players who West Ham should target, including Joe Worral, Ryan Manning, Erebechi Eze, Said Benrahma, and Aleksandar Mitrovic, all from the Championship. West Ham can offer playing time and higher wages, more so than a lot of other Prem teams so that should be attractive enough.

Lastly, we have the departures – chosen not forced. The obvious ones are there: Roberto on a free, Carlos Sanchez to wherever will take him, and likely Andriy Yarmolenko, too. But, will Manuel Lanzini find a move elsewhere? What about Fabian Balbuena? Or, will the club be able to move on Winston Reid permanently? All should open up space and money for new recruits.