West Ham needed a major overhaul in the summer but it was just the first stage of a rebuild that will continue in coming windows.
A number of signings have simply not worked out for the Hammers.
Guido Rodriguez arrived on a free while West Ham spent nearly £25m on striker Niclas Fullkrug and £20m on Luis Guilherme.
The jury is also still out on £32m defender Jean-Clair Todibo who has blown hot and cold.
Although the feeling with Todibo is that he will eventually be an important player in the right system.
Max Kilman, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Crysencio Summerville have been good additions.
Carlos Soler has showed promise in the last couple of games.
But it has been revealed West Ham want to see Soler maintain those levels for the rest of the season before deciding whether they can want to sign off on what would be a difficult deal financially.
Soler’s future would also likely be tied to whether Julen Lopetegui is still around in the medium to long-term.
West Ham did commit £155m to transfers in the summer.
That doesn’t mean the rebuild is over. In fact it’s only halfway done.
West Ham rebuild only half done
In the next two windows West Ham want to sign a new left-back, a back-up right-back, two central midfielders and two strikers.
The Hammers may also be in the market for another goalkeeper with Lukasz Fabianski turning 40.
A big summer spend means January funds may be limited to bargains or loans. But any money raised through sales will help.
To that end West Ham’s rebuild reboot has been given a boost with bidding war on cards and £70m eyed.
The club knows some mistakes have been made.
The difference now is that the Hammers are more proactive in holding their hands up and moving on.
Sales of the likes of Sebastien Hallers, Gianluca Scamacca, Flynn Downes are examples of that.
Shipping out Maxwel Cornet, James Ward-Prowse and Nayef Aguerd is further proof.
It was claimed over the international break that Fullkrug, Rodriguez and Edson Alvarez want to leave in January.
West Ham will not stand in their way either as Tim Steidten and co look to raise funds to reinvigorate the team with youth, athleticism and power.
The club will be looking to the Championship as well as abroad.
In terms of raising funds there is good news from Spain.
Hammers reboot boost with bidding war on cards and £70m eyed
Aguerd has really impressed on loan at Real Sociedad.
Hammers News understands word from Spain is that that a ‘bidding war could play out between major European clubs’ with Real Madrid impressed and Manchester United even being linked.
Reporting in Spain says West Ham might be willing to entertain attractive offers.
Aguerd is on a season-long loan but West Ham are in a good position to command a decent fee given the Moroccan’s form.
The Hammers would expect to bring in at least £15m.
Although West Ham are not in any danger in terms of PSR.
Knowing they have that money coming in could help loosen the purse strings in January.
A further £55m could be raised too.
Fullkrug could be sold when the January window opens. West Ham would expect to claw back at least between £15-20m.
West Ham will continue ruthless streak over failed signings
Rodriguez will only be sold if West Ham get a fee of at least £2.5-5m.
Alvarez could fetch around £15-20m too and has interest from Germany and Spain.
Ward-Prowse could bring in another £15m while Cornet could be sold for around £5m with another year left on his deal.
Those are realistic fees for players who are all surplus to requirements long term in east London.
And they will go a long way to helping the Hammers revamp the squad with one of the big priorities being to bring the average age down.
First port of call in January will be a forward and midfielder.
Loans with options or obligations to buy would be the preferred structure of any deal.
One thing is for certain the next window will be far from dull.
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