Top eight beckons but get a move on Irons

West Ham fans may be disappointed that a £20 million bid for Stoke City forward Marko Arnautovic has failed (FOR NOW), but there can be no doubt about the club’s ambitions this summer.

England goalkeeper Joe Hart seems close to signing and plenty of top level names appear to have been in the mix over the last two or three weeks with Olivier Giroud, among the others. The board intends to spend big in the transfer market this summer.

Increased financial firepower generated by the new stadium means we can afford to target a higher calibre of player now, but right now other clubs are putting us to shame in the market place.

Despite that, the club’s stature is rising with the words  Premier League stalwart coming to mind. It remains far too early to believe we can realistically contend with Chelsea, Tottenham, Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Man Utd next season.

Aspirations have to be managed and the next stage is to become established as a top eight outfit. Our rivals remain the  tier below the Big Six – Everton, Leicester City, Stoke, Southampton, West Brom and maybe even Bournemouth given the way they are spending.

Eddie Howe’s club has already spent north of £20 million on Nathan Ake this summer, and they have strengthened the spine of their team with a top goalkeeper in Asmir Begovic and a Jermain Defoe.

Everton have of course led led the way this summer, having spent more than any other Premiership club so far, including oil rich Man City. Granted, they lost star striker Romelu Lukaku in a £75 million deal to Man Utd, but they have spent £30 million apiece on Jordan Pickford and Michael Keane and £23.6 million on Ajax captain Davy Klaassen, and brought England’s record goal scorer Wayne Rooney back to Goodison Park.

They also show no signs of stopping spending. Leicester are tying up a big move for Kelechi Iheanacho and have already spent £30 million signing Harry Maguire and Vicente Iborra.

The bleak fact remainsthat thus farn only signed Pablo Zabaleta has arrived on on a free transfer. The Argentinean has been a wonderful servant to Man City over the years, but looked a bit over the hill at times last season.

It is obvious West Ham need to bolster their starting 11 with several new players. although remember that Southampton and Stoke have not started spending yet.

The bare minimum next season should be finishing in the top half. You can actually get very attractive odds on that outcome right now. Ladbrokes typically has some of the best odds available, as this review explains, and it is offering 11/8 on West Ham finishing in the top half. They could afford to finish behind the big six and a further three teams and still make it, so that looks a very good bet.

The stars will start trickling in soon. Arnautovic wants to leave Stoke due to their lack of ambition, and a third bid could tempt Mark Hughes to cash in on the Austrian. A move for Hart sounds very realistic as he is not in high demand, but he is a top goalkeeper and a huge improvement on what’s available to us.

Defensive reinforcements, a strong midfield presence and a top striker to ease the burden on the frequently injured Andy Carroll will remain a priority, and the club seems determined to back Slaven Bilic in the summer transfer window, so there is every chance of us returning to the top eight next campaign, and then we can focus on breaking into the top six after that.