West Ham United are reportedly making transfer plans for January in an effort to back new manager Nuno Espírito Santo, and a former Barcelona forward is said to be on their radar heading into the winter.
West Ham make transfer plans for January to back Nuno
West Ham remain without their first win under Nuno’s tenure after drawing away to Everton and tasting defeat at the hands of Premier League title-chasers Arsenal, but there have been small signs of improvement.
“He certainly seemed to go back to the basics and made things simple, and the team responded,” former Everton CEO Keith Wyness told Football Insider after Nuno’s debut game in the Hammers dugout on Merseyside.
“They did look like a team in crisis last night, but in the second half, they looked like a team that had something to it. They had a lot more chances than they normally would have had. So maybe they are responding to basics.
“Certainly, Nuno’s back to no nonsense, and I think the team and the fans responded to that on Monday night.
Arsenal are the division’s in-form team right now and getting a result there was always going to be a tall order for Nuno, despite West Ham winning two of their previous two Premier League games at the Emirates.
There is little to go on so far, but you can make a case that West Ham look slightly less vulnerable than under Graham Potter already.
West Ham’s results in the Premier League so far
Sunderland 3-0 West Ham
West Ham 1-5 Chelsea
Nottingham Forest 0-3 West Ham
West Ham 0-3 Tottenham
West Ham 1-2 Crystal Palace
Everton 1-1 West Ham
Arsenal 2-0 West Ham
David Sullivan and the Hammers hierarchy, thanks largely to vice-chairman Karren Brady, who pushed for Nuno (Alex Crook), handed the Portuguese a three-year contract in a public statement of backing for West Ham’s new head coach.
Sullivan was in favour of re-appointing Slaven Bilic on a short-term interim contract, but with Nuno given a long-term show of faith instead, reports suggest that West Ham are prepared to back him with new recruits in January.
The consensus thus far is that the Irons are looking at attacking options, with AC Milan forward Christian Pulisic, Roma’s Lorenzo Pellegrini, Galatasaray’s Baris Yilmaz and Man United’s Joshua Zirkzee all mentioned as potential West Ham transfer targets.
It is crystal clear why they’re considering a new forward too.
Only Nottingham Forest and bottom side Wolves have scored fewer league goals than West Ham so far, and on the basis of overall play, they’re in dire need of creativity.
Adama Traoré could decide to join West Ham after Nuno’s arrival
Former Barcelona and Wolves forward Adama Traoré, who worked with Nuno to great effect at Molineux, is now being linked with a move to the London Stadium after his former manager’s move there.
The Spain international, now at Fulham, has played a bit-part role under Marco Silva so far this season and could leave for free at the end of this season when his contract expires.
Despite being a regular last season, racking up nine assists in 41 appearances across all competitions, Fulham may well be open to cashing in on Traore when the winter window opens.
Speaking to Football Insider, former West Ham employee and scout Mick Brown has said that Traore could choose to reunite with Nuno in East London.
“He’s got unbelievable pace and power, even if the end product doesn’t match that, and that’s something which can be an asset for any team,” Brown said.
“There are obviously concerns that he doesn’t score or assist enough, but Nuno knows him and has worked with him before, so he’ll know all about that. He likes to have direct wingers who are willing to run at their man and drag the team up the pitch on the counter attack, and that’s what Traore would bring.
“So if he’s going to be available in January or at the end of the year, it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see him make that move to play under Nuno again.
“I hear West Ham look like they’re going to back the manager to bring in players who suit the way he plays, so we’ll see if he’s one they go for.”
The 29-year-old’s flashes of quality were at their most consistent under Nuno, and Premier League managers have often piled praise on Traore as a very difficult player to deal with.
“[Traore] is unplayable in moments, it’s unbelievable. What a player,” said former Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp.
“It’s not only him but he’s so good.”
Klopp praised Traore yet again soon after that message, calling the winger’s speed “undefendable” at times.
