Given the disappointing start to the season, it’s easy to start looking ahead to the January transfer window.
The summer transfer business West Ham completed was impressive, with the likes of Max Kilman, Crysencio Summerville, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Jean-Clair Todibo already putting in impressive performances, while Carlos Soler has also shown glimpses of quality.
But Guido Rodriguez has struggled in midfield and Niclas Fullkrug has only featured three times before being ruled out for over a month with an ankle problem.
In defence, we could do with at least one more centre-back to help cover Kilman, Todibo and Konstantinos Mavropanos. An injury to one or more of those three could cause serious issues in what has already been a leaky back four.
Meanwhile, some additional strength in midfield and up front would be useful when you factor in the way in which teams have been able to play through the middle of the park so easily, and our struggles in front of goal.
So I took to ChatGPT and asked it to predict West Ham’s January 2025 transfer window, asking it to name three players it believes West Ham should sign and three players who could be sold.
The results? The outgoings kind of make sense, at least one of them definitely does at least, but the incomings are mostly bizarre or slightly random. It also predicted the transfer fees that may be involved, which certainly adds to the potentially unrealistic chances of its predictions becoming a reality.
Here’s what ChatGPT is predicting for the Hammers this winter…
Incomings
Sandro Tonali – Newcastle (Loan with option to buy for £30-35m)
Remember, this is ChatGPT recommending Tonali for a move to east London, not me.
It’s almost guaranteed not to happen but, according to AI, the Italian “could provide West Ham with creativity and defensive solidity in midfield.”
That’s certainly true but given Tonali has just returned to Eddie Howe’s midfield after nine-month suspension for betting offenses, it’s unlikely Newcastle would allow him to leave in January.
He is an important fixture in the Magpes’ midfield and will be key to their chances of getting back into the top six this season.
Jonathan David – Lille (£40-45m)
We’ve been linked with the Canada international in the past, most recently in the summer just gone.
It was reported by The Sun back in July that the club had actually agreed a deal to sign the striker for £30m but eventually pulled out of the deal after being asked to front another £10m in agent fees.
In hindsight, we probably should’ve paid it because the Lille striker has gone on to score eight goals in 12 games for the Ligue 1 club already this season, including a 93rd minute penalty to beat Real Madrid 1-0 in the Champions League.
Going back in for him in the summer, given our desperate search for a reliable goalscorer will likely continue, isn’t unrealistic, but it’s unlikely Lille are going to want to let their star goalscorer go in the middle of the season.
Armel Bella-Kotchap – Southampton (£25-28m)
The German centre-back came close to leaving the Saints in the summer but moves to both Hoffenheim and Bayern Munich both fell through, so he has remains St. Mary’s, at least until January.
It’s clear he is out of favour with manager Russel Martin, with the 22-year-old featuring just once so far this season – playing just 26 minutes against Cardiff City in the Carabao Cup.
He has been left out of the matchday squad for all seven of Southampton’s other fixtures this season, so it’s fair to say he’s just waiting for January to come around so he move on.
This wouldn’t be a bad addition to West Ham’s squad. The youngster is highly-rated and already has two caps for the German national team. With age on his side, he could be a suitable additional to our centre-back cover, with the view of him becoming a long-term fixture alongside either Kilman or Todibo in the future.
Outgoings
Michail Antonio – Saudi Pro League (£5-7m)
Recent reports have suggested the club is willing to listen to offers for the 34-year-old this January, so this prediction is pretty accurate.
The striker/winger/right-back has been an unbelievable servant for the club since signing from Nottingham Forest in 2015, going on to score 82 goals and register 44 assists in 315 first team appearances.
The Jamaica international is the club’s all-time leading Premier League goalscorer with 67 goals and last week became the first West Ham player to reach 100 Premier League goal contributions.
He also scored on the final game at Upton Park, the first Premier League game at London Stadium and was the first opposition player to find the net at Tottenham’s new stadium.
Michail Antonio has picked up records throughout his Hammers career but the reality is, his time in claret and blue is coming to an end. We can’t keep relying on him to lead the line.
Given his age, one last big payday in Saudi Arabia would likely be an attractive proposition for Antonio. Something tells me ChatGPT might be pretty accurate with this prediction.
Tomas Soucek – AS Roma (£15-18m)
While there will be West Ham fans out there who would love to see this happen, I personally dread the day Tomas Soucek leaves the club.
However, while I don’t think it’ll happen in January, there is a chance his days are numbered in east London. While he may be our top scorer in the Premier League so far this season, there have been signs that Julen Lopetegui might prefer other midfield options over the Czech international.
He does provide solid cover, though, so it would be a real surprise if his exit was sanctioned in the middle of the season but I wouldn’t be surprised if he was replaced next summer. That said, it all depends who our manager is, doesn’t it?
Whether AS Roma are the team who would be interested in signing him also remains to be seen. There’s no doubt he is good enough to continue playing at the highest level, so it’s another one that probably wouldn’t surprise me if it happened.
Vladimír Coufal – Bayer Leverkusen (£7-9m)
Vladimir Coufal is another player I would be gutted to see leave, although I’m not convinced he has a long term future at the club.
But what I’m fairly certain of is that the club won’t allow the 32-year-old to leave the club in January. He provides solid cover for Wan-Bissaka at right-back and has already featured on six occasions this season, with two starts in the Premier League and two starts in the Carabao Cup.
He has made no secret of his love for West Ham publicly and has always, without question, given 100% for the shirt.
But given he was replaced by Lopetegui with Wan-Bissaka immediately after the Spaniard arrived suggests he’s not exactly in the manager’s long term thinking, and an exit will likely be on the cards next summer.
To Bayer Leverkusen, though? That would be a surprise.
Note: This article is purely reporting on what ChatGPT returned when prompted to predict West Ham’s January transfer business, and is not in any way suggesting these transfers will or could happen in the future.
