Very welcoming news in the last 24 hours as ‘striker’ rumours run back and forth across news and blog sites. You may have missed it amongst the West Ham news headlines shouting ‘Rodrigo Muniz‘,’ Evan Ferguson’,’Taiwo Awoniyi’, Andre Silva’ or even perennial Callum Wilson– but there was a note of sanity hidden away amongst the headlines.
For even as these names are all reported as being ‘West Ham targets’ in the January window as the Hammers race to bolster their broken and battered toothless front line – it seems there is a new, firm hand on the tiller. Instead of the August 2024 set-up with Steidten, Lopetegui and Sullivan all hell-bent on bringing their own choices into the club, there is increasing sway being placed on the head coaches’ opinion instead of just repeating past mistakes and bringing in players that – especially in the Summer- Lopetegui didn’t want or subsequently use.
Hidden away within the sub text lies the clue. Despite rumours circulating from the usual sources such as Sky’s Florian Plettenberg over Awoniyi, bild.de reporting Silva’s interest to West Ham or talkSPORT’s claims over Muniz, the most telling comment I found was the reassuring comment from a Hammers’ spokesman via hammers.news that ‘The manager is not sure about any of the choices.” Note the word ‘manager’!
Could be indecision, could be bluff and bluster, could be a smokescreen simply to hide the true target. All of which have been true in the past. But reassuringly enough, Graham Potter would appear to be at the frontline of the search rather than ‘just’ coaching the squad.
A manager in everything other than name, then. And on his first week in charge, that bodes well for the window and for the club.
