Having held ambitious plans to compete with some of Europe’s biggest names at the start of the summer, West Ham are now looking to complete more realistic deals, with just two weeks until the start of the new Premier League campaign.
A long term injury to left back Aaron Creswell, as well as the likelihood of being without Manuel Lanzini after he withdrew from the Argentina squad for the upcoming Olympics, now mean that the Hammers are being forced to look further afield in their bid to increase their squad depth.
Despite the arrivals of Sofiane Feghouli, Gokhan Tore and Havard Nordtveit, attacking and defensive reinforcements still remain a priority for manager Slaven Bilic.
The latest names to be linked with a move to the Olympic Stadium include Andrew Robertson, Andre Ayew and Swedish international Ludwig Augustinsson. Bilic is keen to build on his sides sixth place finish last time around, and as a result are 12/1 in the football odds with bookmakers Coral to finish in the top four come 2017.
Should the likes of Dimitri Payet, Mark Noble and Andy Carroll continue their form from the end of last season, the Hammers could well be the ones to watch in the Premier League this year.
West Ham take on Slovenian side NK Domzale in the second leg of their Europa League qualifying match, with the home side the 2/11 favourites with Coral to secure victory.
Bilic’s side struggled throughout in Slovenia, with goalkeeper Adrian coming to his team’s rescue on numerous occasions. Mark Noble’s first half penalty should be enough to see the Hammers through comfortably given their home advantage.
One man who looks set to be heading out of West Ham is striker Diafra Sakho, with Premier League rivals West Bromwich Albion having reportedly agreed a fee for the Senegal International. The striker handed in a transfer request at the end of a season in a bid to find a new team, and it now seems likely that the man who scored six goals in his opening six appearances for the Hammers will depart after just two years with the club.
Jonathan Calleri is likely to replace Sakho, with the Argentine, who scored sixteen goals for Sao Paulo last season, set to join on a season-long loan deal.
