FIVE January signings West Ham should consider

After such a promising start to the season, it’s hard to make a claim for any serious reinforcements arriving in the January transfer window.

But with the African Cup of Nations happening in January and our defence still looking on the weak side, Sam Allardyce may be forced to dip in to the market in order to help fill the gaps left by AFCON-bound Alex Song, Cheikhou Kouyate and Diafra Sakho and tighten up the back four.

And with a new style of play being successful so far, it’ll be challenge to bring in new faces and get them to slot straight seamlessly, ensuring we don’t lose our stride.

So, with that in mind, here are FIVE players West Ham should consider signing in January.

Click on Sam Allardyce to reveal

Antonio Rudiger

With Winston Reid reportedly set for the exit door this January, we’re going to need to replace him pretty quickly.

And German international Rudiger could be exactly the kind of defender who could slot straight in to the side without much time to adapt to life in the Premier League.

We’ve been linked with the 21-year-old for some time now and it’s believed he’d only cost around £6million to tempt him away from Stuttgart.

Jordan Rhodes

No one really knows why he’s still playing in the Championship and hasn’t been snapped up for a top-flight club yet.

The fact is that Rhodes is a goal machine who has been ready for the a Premier League opportunity for some time now and would undoubtedly have no problem with replicating his goal scoring antics at a higher level.

You could argue that we don’t really need another striker, but if Sakho goals to AFCON with Senegal then we’ll be stuck with just Enner Valencia and Carlton Cole up top, which isn’t ideal.

Saido Berahino

He’d be something of a long shot, but certainly an option who’d prove to be successful at the club.

The way we are playing at the moment means we could benefit from someone like Berahino, who can play through the middle, as a winger and a striker, which means Allardyce’s new diamond formation would be perfect for the England U21 star.

The chances of West Brom keeping hold of him are slim and we should be one of the clubs hoping to sign him up in January.

Andros Townsend

A controversial option, but it’s looking likely that he’ll be on his way out of White Hart Lane in January.

Wether it’s a permanent move or just a loan deal, he’d certainly add some pace and attacking flair to our game and could link up wonderfully with a much improved and rejuvenated Stewart Downing.

Townsend is the type of player who is at his best when playing regularly, which he is doing at Spurs but would almost definitely get with us.

Marko Arnautovic

The 25-year-old Austrian has impressed at Stoke this season after an equally impressive debut season last term.

The midfielder can play either as winger or through the middle and would add something different to your news style of play.

Whether Stoke would be open to selling one of their best players remains to be seen, but he has been linked with a move away from the Britannia Stadium this January.