Slow and Sinking – West Ham’s January Window Must Deliver Pace — Fast

West Ham are in desperate need of pace as we head into the January transfer window.

Quite how successive coaches and directors of football — all overseen by an ownership that loves to dip its toe into transfer waters — have managed to assemble such a pedestrian group of players is anyone’s guess. What is clear, however, is that Nuno Espírito Santo is a defensive-minded manager who ideally wants to build a counter-attacking side.

Unfortunately for him, he’s quickly discovering that West Ham’s squad contains very few players capable of transitioning sharply from defence into attack. And when Crysencio Summerville is unavailable, we quite literally have nobody who can do it.

That said, there are the makings of a decent backbone: strong full-backs, an improving Jean-Clair Todibo in central defence, and a young midfield that’s starting to grow into its role.

Lack of Pace is Killing the Attack

But the absence of speed — both out wide and through the middle — is a major hindrance to any attacking threat. Zero shots on target against Liverpool tells the story well enough.

Espirito Santo claimed on Thursday that he hadn’t given any thought to the January transfer window… don’t believe a word of it. Claret & Hugh were told a month ago by an agent that Nuno was already putting out feelers for quick attackers.

The inquest into how West Ham found themselves in this situation will have to wait, but I strongly suspect incompetence at the very top is at the heart of it. For now, what matters is that West Ham have a big January — and that means fast players through the door, and early.