Beware! There’s still one player we really need

West Ham have secured some exciting looking signings this summer.

This week Argentine starlet Manuel Lanzini  became  the seventh following  Dimitri Payet, Angel Ogbonna ,Pedro Obiang,Carl Jenkinson  Stephen Hendrie and Darren Randolph.

On the face of it the squad has been significantly strengthened and with Slaven Bilic also prepared to consider some of the impressive young talent coming through there is an exciting feeling  about the ‘New Hammers’ in the wake of dire last days of the Sam Allardyce regime.

But beware. This is exactly the stage of the season when the majority of fans around the country are most optimistic ….just before the season has actually started.

And one of the reasons for some caution is that with the exception of Jenkinson, who continues his loan spell from Arsenal, none of the above have Premier League experience and four have yet to sample the different environment of British football.

As Manchester United discovered last season even players with the highest  international reputation and natural talent  – Radamal Falcao and Angel di Maria – can find it hard to adapt let alone hit the ground running in the Premier League.

Which is why, I feel, West Ham should go for an eight signing, a player who has the pedigree to solve profligacy in the final third and make the Hammers a force and lure a player from just down the road.

I am talking here about Charlie Austin.

Newcastle and Aston Villa are the latest clubs to move in for the 26 year old centre forward who relegated QPR will sell for £15 million which in current currency is a bargain for a striker.

It’s half what Liverpool have paid for Christian Benteke. A quarter of what has been suggested Manchester City, yes seriously, may pay for Kevin de Bruyne.

Austin scored 18 goals for Rangers last season an impressive return in a struggling team and did enough to force his way into England contention.

Having worked his way back up the ranks from non league after rejection at Reading he would seem to have just the sort of character and hunger the Hammers need upfront not to mention a wide range of finishing ability.

And of course he comes with full service history. Look at his CV and see how every time he  had faced a new challenge he  grasps the nettle and hits the back of the net.

Newcastle and Villa are the sort of the teams West Ham need to better than if they are  to be a top ten team knocking on the door of the “Big Six”. So why let them land  Austin, who would, I understand, prefer to live in the London area.

If the fee is a problem given the expense so far on the new players  then surely a deal could be done with some of the West Ham players  who would now seem surplus to requirements being offered to Rangers in exchange or sold off elsewhere .

Given Andy Carroll’s latest injury set back it’s hard to see him returning and being a significant feature in the future of West Ham under Bilic.

Austin on the other hand has the powers to give the Hammers the extra dimension upfront  they need.