Transfer Speculation

alderz

I think we need at least two players per position for next season. Some of these players should have some flexibility to play in a couple of positions to cover gaps in a time of need, and we should also supplement the squad with some youngsters if necessary.

GK: Fabianski, Randolph, Trott

DR: Coufal, Johnson
DC: Dawson, Diop
DC: Ogbonna, ?????, Alves
DL: Cresswell, Masuaku

MC: Rice, Noble
MC: Soucek, ?????

RW: Bowen, ?????
AM: Lingard, Lanzini
LW: Fornals, Benrahma

ST: Antonio, ?????

I'm not even counting Yarmolenko anymore as he's just not good enough. I'm also not counting Anderson, though I guess he might be brought back into the fold.

For me, we need to sign a CB, CM, ST, FW and Lingard. If Anderson comes into the squad then I guess we won't need another FW, but I don't know if there's much chance of that. I'd be interested in whether any of the youngsters are stepped up to fill the holes - Coventry, Odubeko, Baptiste, Holland, Alese, Akinola. There's a bunch of them that are rated highly, who will hopefully get some games with a busier workload next year.

There's a minimum of 46 games to play next season, and we can't rely on anyone to play every minute of that campaign

baracks_a_hammer

We need a keeper more than we need a winger IMO

OldCastleSwift

baracks_a_hammer said:

We need a keeper more than we need a winger IMO

I think Johnstone will be our first signing. Salthouse, innit.

As a general point, I also think Moyes will want to have a squad that can play 3-5-2 and 4-3-3 equally well. As it is, Coufal can play RB and RWB, but neither Cresswell or Masuaku can do the same on the left; Cresswell isn't quick enough to play LWB and Masuaku isn't defensively good enough to play LB. When Masuaku has been available, we've generally gone with a back three, but when he's out, we have to revert to a back four. For that reason, I think a left-sided player - a left-footed Coufal - will be quite high on Moyes' list of priorities.

Yeoldhammer

I dont think a keeper will come i think Fabs contract will run out and if we have another good season again and Burnley have a shocker i can see us trying for Pope.

alderz

I don’t think we’ll sign a keeper either. We’ve got Fab and Randolph for a bit longer, and I can’t see us selling either of them for much at this point of their careers. I think we’ll stick with the keepers for another season.

IronHerb

Not sure who was on BT co-comms on the match yesterday but he said he rated Fab as up there with the top keepers in the league. He's made a couple of gaffs but so has every keeper. Not a priority for changing and Randy showed he's not bad when asked to step up.

I settle for Lingard and two strikers.

alderz

Also, just as a point of clarification, what I said before was just to get the squad to a good size for a big campaign. You could argue that we might want to upgrade certain positions (GK and LB) but I was just talking numbers

IronHerb

RW: Bowen, ?????
AM: Lingard, Lanzini
LW: Fornals, Benrahma

I think those five cover all and each of the positions so would we really need a sixth?

alderz

An injury to one or two of them and you’ve got no options. There were many occasions towards the end of the season where we looked at the bench and saw no options to turn a game. It’s also questionable whether or not Lanzini is up to par anymore.

I personally think we need more.

BubblesNeverDies

I wouldn't be averse to Moyes giving Anderson another chance.
I think the opportunity of European football could be an extra motivation, although tbh he shouldn't need it given the wages he must be on.
It's odd how his performances dropped off the way they did, maybe Moyes didn't think he was making the required effort, but there's definitely a skilful player there.
I just hate to think that we wasted £35m on him.

IronHerb

Didn't Anderson have the lure of the CL with Porto? How did that work out?

No thanks.

Yeoldhammer

IronHerb said:

RW: Bowen, ?????
AM: Lingard, Lanzini
LW: Fornals, Benrahma

I think those five cover all and each of the positions so would we really need a sixth?

Lingard may not be here

IronHerb

I'm, assuming he will be for the sake of argument.

Yeoldhammer

I have a feeling the stock of the Czechs could rise a lot with Euro 2020, i reckon they have a great chance of finishing second in the group and upsetting Croatia. If Kral is an option definitely need to be pursuing that before the tournament gets underway.

BubblesNeverDies

IronHerb said:

Didn't Anderson have the lure of the CL with Porto? How did that work out?

No thanks.

From Wiki:

Loan to Porto
On 6 October 2020, Felipe Anderson joined Portuguese club Porto on a season-long loan. It was a widely anticipated move for the out-of-form Brazilian to gain much needed confidence and playing time. On arrival at the club, Anderson said he was "fulfilling a dream" to play in both the UEFA Champions League and Primeira Liga whilst also insisting that he will still attempt to regain a starting spot at West Ham the following season. He made his Porto debut on 17 October, replacing Luis Díaz in the 59th minute of a 2–2 draw at Sporting CP.
Throughout the season, Anderson only made four Primeira Liga appearances - largely put down to a sour relationship with manager Sérgio Conceição. In October, he suggested Anderson "needs to work hard" and there were many indications Anderson was signed against the manager's wishes. At the end of the season, Anderson seemed to criticise the manager stating that he applied himself from the beginning but "wasn't given many opportunities to play."

IronHerb

So Bubbles that's two clubs who appear to have the same view on him that he's lazy.

Still no thanks.

IronHerb

I know we need a striker or two but Chelsea are far more in need. Their top Prem scorer was Jorginho with 7, and they were all penalties. I think Haaland will be their number one target.

BubblesNeverDies

IronHerb said:

So Bubbles that's two clubs who appear to have the same view on him that he's lazy.

Still no thanks.

Can't see anywhere it's stated that he's lazy.
This is worth a read.
https://greenstreethammers.com/2020/06/02/west-ham-real-problem-felipe-anderson/

alderz

BubblesNeverDies said:

IronHerb said:

So Bubbles that's two clubs who appear to have the same view on him that he's lazy.

Still no thanks.

Can't see anywhere it's stated that he's lazy.
This is worth a read.
https://greenstreethammers.com/2020/06/02/west-ham-real-problem-felipe-anderson/

I'd assume Herb means this part from your previous post:

In October, he suggested Anderson "needs to work hard"

IronHerb

Still no thanks.

WHU_Champo_league_in_7_years

IronHerb said:

RW: Bowen, ?????
AM: Lingard, Lanzini
LW: Fornals, Benrahma

I think those five cover all and each of the positions so would we really need a sixth?

Gotta agree with this

Benrahma already can't get in the team

We have 5 players for 3 positions plus if we get a new striker Antonio can still play on the wings, it's not a priority (unless Lingard doesn't stay)

Also if we really do get 3 injuries to the 5 at one time we can always go back to a back 5 as that only requires two wingers to work

Centre Mid and Striker are priorities

Then a new CB and GK (sorry othink Fab has regressed a lot and is too injured prone) if it's possible

Dont see why we can't try rake advantage of the loan market again, don't think Man City or United (or even Liverpool/Chelsea even though it was close this year) would think of us as a genuine contender/rival even after the year we've had

Someone like Daniel James, Ethan Ampadu, Harvey Elliot, Rhys Williams etc. Think we'd be quite appealing for those teams

alderz

WHU_Champo_league_in_7_years said:

IronHerb said:

RW: Bowen, ?????
AM: Lingard, Lanzini
LW: Fornals, Benrahma

I think those five cover all and each of the positions so would we really need a sixth?

Gotta agree with this

Benrahma already can't get in the team

We have 5 players for 3 positions plus if we get a new striker Antonio can still play on the wings, it's not a priority (unless Lingard doesn't stay)

Also if we really do get 3 injuries to the 5 at one time we can always go back to a back 5 as that only requires two wingers to work

Centre Mid and Striker are priorities

Then a new CB and GK (sorry othink Fab has regressed a lot and is too injured prone) if it's possible

Dont see why we can't try rake advantage of the loan market again, don't think Man City or United (or even Liverpool/Chelsea even though it was close this year) would think of us as a genuine contender/rival even after the year we've had

Someone like Daniel James, Ethan Ampadu, Harvey Elliot, Rhys Williams etc. Think we'd be quite appealing for those teams

Daniel James and Harvey Elliott are wingers though?

Yeoldhammer

If we cant get Lingard on a perm, Peirera from West Brom would be a decent buy

ASLEFshrugged

alderz said:

DR: Coufal, Johnson
DC: Dawson, Diop
DC: Ogbonna, ?????, Alves
DL: Cresswell, Masuaku

Fredericks at RB plus I thought he did rather well at LB

We certainly don't need a keeper, Fab and Randy are good for at least another season

CM and CF are the two positions we need to sort out

Yeoldhammer

According to ExWhu Left back Firpo is a top target.

Ravel49

It’s gonna be Barkley

Ravel49

Or maybe Hazard 😉

IronHerb

For £10m maybe. Then, maybe not.

alderz

ASLEFshrugged said:

alderz said:

DR: Coufal, Johnson
DC: Dawson, Diop
DC: Ogbonna, ?????, Alves
DL: Cresswell, Masuaku

Fredericks at RB plus I thought he did rather well at LB

We certainly don't need a keeper, Fab and Randy are good for at least another season

CM and CF are the two positions we need to sort out

I definitely completely forgot Fredericks

buffybegood

I'm not sure I agree with that article tbh; there's an element of truth but I do feel that his real issue was finding the balance between accepting he has some defensive responsibilities, and yet still having the work rate to get forward quickly when we have possession.

There's no doubt his confidence took a big hit though; his last good few performances (at least as I remember them) were extremely lack-lustre going forward, rarely trying to beat his man and all too often turning and playing the ball backwards.