With the transfer window moving at the pace of a traffic warden in flip flops, West Ham seem to be embracing an old age footballing philosophy this summer “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, and even if it is – just close your eyes and hope no one notices!”
As things stand – and “stand” seems to be particularly apt here – should no sales or further purchases materialise we might be looking at a starting eleven that might be best described as “accidentally avant-garde”.
Let’s dive into this squad – that may – or may not carry us into the new season.
Between the sticks Alphonse Areola remains our number one with Wes Foderingham graduating from “veteran free transfer” to “trusty bench ornament.”
At right back Aaron Wan Bissaka is expected to single-handily hold down the entire right flank because senior cover is a luxury we can’t afford. Should he suffer a knock, the current plan appears to be: Panic!
On the left it’s the fascinating duel between the youthful Ollie Scarles and the veteran Emerson.
The centre back positions are well covered with Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo the preferred starters with Nayef Aguerd and Konstantinos Mavropanos, Luizao and Kaelan Casey all available in reserve.
Midfield will be populated by senior professionals Tomas Soucek, Edson Alvarez, James Ward Prowse, Guido Rodriguez, Andrew Irving and Lucas Paqueta while Lewis Orford, Mohamadou Kante, George Earthy and Freddie Potts offer a splash of youthful optimism.
Options on the wing include Maxwel Cornet, Crysencio Summerville, Luis Guilherme and Mohammed Kudus. Whether this translates to goals or lots of step overs remains to be seen.
For strikers there will be a heavy reliance on Niclas Fullkrug, and Jarrod Bowen who can interchange, along with Daniel Cummings and Callum Marshall, who offer back-up, which is code for “let’s hope Fullkrug doesn’t get injured in pre-season.”
In all likelihood there will be some changes to the squad I have highlighted and we should remind ourselves that we are only into the early stages of the transfer window. Yet if the Board continue to play a game of “Deal or No Deal”, without ever opening the box, it’s time to look ahead to the very real possibility, that, well, nothing else happens!