Just over a week into Nuno Espírito Santo’s tenure at West Ham, the club is already being linked with two familiar faces from his previous spells at Wolves and Nottingham Forest.
However, early signs suggest he may not be fully aligned with West Ham’s current recruitment strategy, which prioritises younger players identified through data-driven scouting.
Adama Traoré, who turns 30 in January, and 33-year-old Chris Wood (34 in December) don’t quite fit the age profile the club is aiming for. Their potential arrivals raise questions about whether the club’s long-term vision is being followed. More David Moyes than new era!
Behind the scenes, Head of Recruitment and Analysis, Max Hahn is actively compiling a shortlist for the January transfer window, with a striker high on the agenda. One name still under consideration is FC Midtjylland’s Franculino Dju. Despite a recent dip in form—just one goal in his last eight appearances and a spell out of the starting lineup—his overall record of 30 goals in 64 games points to significant promise. At just 21, he still has ample room to grow.
With limited funds available, West Ham have publicly committed to supporting their new manager. Still, fans will be hoping Nuno takes heed of past lessons and steers the club toward a more sustainable and forward-thinking approach.
The average tenure of a PL Manager is now about 18 months .. No surprise that Managers buy short term .. It’s up to the owners to lay down a policy of wanting young, hungry players who will appreciate in value .. and stick to it .. DS, though, has a default of older, proven PL players when there’s a sniff of relegation in the air, which, on average, seems to be every other season ..
Definitely NOT what West Ham need, either of them, and Nuno needs to be told no. This is a classic example of why a coach should not get carte blanche on transfers. Input definitely, but not the only voice. Traore would be like having Antonio back for 22/23/24 and that is not planning for the future. Wood might be better than what we have but at 34 is not someone to build the future around.
The West Ham way is to have a mixture of academy players, young players and also buying in proven players over the age of 30. It was always the way to bring in a Liam Brady or a Martin Winterburn, a Stuart Pearce or a Teddy Sherrington. Players past their best but still good with great leadership and a lifetime of experience to pass on to the academy kids. It’s in the West Ham DNA. It’s what we are mate.
Stan. I think you mean Nigel Winterburn.
Agree with your sentiment.
Hi
I too am concerned that Nuno is looking at 30 plus players, we need to build a team around youngsters.We already have two 30year old strikers.Woods is good but will only slowly decline,where as a young player can hopefully only get better
Please don’t make the same mistakes as previous managers getting older players on the cheap and paying them a fortune in wages and give the a long contract and the find like now we can not off load them
Things are looking better and I am very hopeful you can get this team buzzing again