Skipper Kevin Nolan is expected to come under serious pressure for his place from new signing Mauro Zarate from the first kick of the new season.

The 27 year old Argentine has arrived at Upton Park as a front line striker who has everything in his locker.

He is well known to the owners who took him to Birmingham City on loan back in 2008 and although the team was relegated, he showed enough for the pair to bring him back to West Ham six years later.

ClaretandHugh has learned that Zarate is a very serious arrival on wages understood to be in the region of £40,000 a week over three years – an outlay of just under £6 million plus bonuses.

And although manager Sam Allardyce has rarely been associated with a ‘Little and Large’ combination upfront – more often than not relying on just a big target man – Zarate will be expected to play from the start.

A senior source explained exclusively to ClaretandHugh: “Given their knowledge of the player this looks like a signing driven by the co owners.

“Zarate has lots of pace, movement and trickery and on the wages that are being paid out he will be expected to play.

“And with a full pre-season ahead of him there can be no claims about fitness issues so it seems that the style of play is definitely going to change.

“Obviously, someone is going to have to make way and there’s a big feeling around the place the main sufferer may be the captain but it’s early days.

“However, Nolan has been Andy Carroll’s main foil previously but it’s now  Zarate who will be seen as the one to feed off those tasty knockdowns.”

The cynical view that this may have been a buy to sweeten season ticket sales is simply not true with Zarate’s understood wages to be the giveaway.

This is a serious footballer who is here to help take West Ham back to their entertaining roots.

Without a doubt things are changing at the Boleyn!

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