Well this truly is turning into one hell of a summer for the Irons.
Amazing what can happen when everybody is employed in the right job without any interference from above isn’t it?
Suddenly, the earth is moving under West Ham United as David Sullivan passes all the deals onto Mario Husillos and Manuel Pellegrini.
Jack Wilshere has arrived and as we understand it is on his way to Switzerland at the same time as another new arrival, Borussia Dortmund’s Andriy Yarmelenko is reported to be flying in to the pre-season camp for a medical.
And as we revealed last night – followed by other media outlets today – it seems that the Felipe Anderson’s switch from Lazio may just be stuttering towards a conclusion in our favour.
I’m not holding my breath just yet but things are looking brighter than for a while on that front.
Whilst all of this has been going on Sky appear to be on the case with news that Antonio, Kouyate and Obiang will be allowed to move on although that could all be premature speculation.
Our understanding is that Manuel Pellegrini alone will make those sort of decisions at the end of the Switzerland training camp so over here at CandH we will adopt a ‘wait and see’ position.
On the face of it such speculation seems reasonable with two quality right sided midfielders coming in should Yarmelenko and Anderson both arrive and with Nathan Holland in the wings.
It seems a difficult scenario for Antonio in such circumstances whilst Kouyate and Obiang have had various question marks over their form and fitness for some time.
Pellegrini’s impact is already being felt. A top manager attracts good players and I really want to believe that the old guard has passed and the new order is now in place.
The boss and his director of football are clearly quality operators. At around £12 million a year in wages they should be and the days of the board making critical player decisions appears to be fast disappearing.
Thank goodness for that – this is how things should work in professional sport!
COYI
The Wilshere signing is the one that pellegrini knew was a big name who would create a domino effect and help entice other top players to come and play for West Ham.
Sorry to be a damp squid but imo neither Fredericks or Wilshere are good enough. Fabianski is not an improvement on Adrian. So for me the only signing of note so far is Diop. IMO a lot of these signings to date are Sullivan’s signings with the exception of Diop. I am not getting over excited until we sign top players. I think selling Antonio or Kouyate is a mistake but I would consider selling either Cresswell, Obiang or Fernandez.
I don’t think that you’ll be getting excited at all if you wait until we sign top players. Top players don’t usually sign for historic relegation battlers like West Ham. Top players sign for teams playing regular Champions League football.
I see what you did there, Hugh…..”Nathan Holland in the wings”
LOL
I think Wiltshire is a very good signing he will
L be up for it and I can see him doing really well remember he is only 26 and touch wood his injuries are behind him
Adrian Durham of talksport has blasted Wilshere for semi retirement signing for West Ham, how do these clueless flabby journalists get there say without right to reply, how insulting,
What a signing and more to come, I am so confident for a not so scary season , who is that bellend anyway? COYI
Hugh, please have a word with the doubters
Starting to look like we are signing a better standard of player OK Fabianski might not be an improvement on Adrain but his future at the clubis unclear so at least we will have an experienced keeper in place if he leaves.I like Fredericks and think he could be the surprise package of the season after gaining plenty of championship games under his belt.Diop could be a beast and a player that could make 3 or 4 times his fee in a season or 2(Look at Umtiti we nearly signed 18 moths ago) Wilshire wasnt a player I would have signed but looking at the deal and the fact over the last 2 seasons he made 29 and 38 apps might suggest his injury nightmare could be behind him so IF hestaysfit we could end up cashing in on him after 2 years add in the other deals rumoured to be close we could have a great transfer window
Unless the medics have determined his injury will be an ongoing issue, it’s madness to sell Antonio.
This new looking West Ham squad will take some getting used to , and even more so when you consider those that are supposedly close to signing . We are stronger , on paper at least , and if the summer training goes well for Pellegrini mixing the new lads with the existing ones we could be in for a far better season than the last . Must say though ; letting Antonio go would be a mistake . We would need back-up if a couple of the new lads don’t hit the ground running . We need a good start to the season instead of a dodgy one . But all
The signs are there . Glad we signed Wilshire and great to see Carroll getting into condition without injury . ( maybe they should train separately given Thier history ) 🤔😎
Just noticed I misspelt “ Wilshere “ ,, oops .
Maybe Antonio needed a kick up the backside and these (potential) signings and Nathan Holland getting good reviews will make him see the light .. He should be busting a gut to impress Pellegrini .. Hope so!