The 2016/2017 English premier league season has not been a good one for West ham United.
Even though they enjoyed amazing success in the season before, they have actually not lived up to it this season. Now, one thing any punter or website that gives more best odds online will reveal to you is that the 2017/2018 premier league season will be tougher than this current season.
England is parading the best managers in the world at the moment. While some of them are in their debut seasons, they will be consolidating their hold next season. That is why the English premier league will be very tough in the coming season.
José Mourinho is building something we cannot discountenance, Pep Guardiola is learning the league and adapting. Antonio Conte will try to consolidate on his success, Jurgen Klopp has had the baptism of fire and is looking to use his experience, and Pochettino has done a great job and will continue with even a better job. Everton is on the rise again and many other teams are becoming stronger, with Leicester having a swell moment with their new manager.
All these are the teams that West Ham will be facing home and away, and competing with next season. If they do not do something drastic, getting a Europa spot next season will not be easy for them and we all know they would want that.
What They Should Do
If West Ham will achieve something great next season, then they should retain Bilic. Yes, he is not the problem of the club and given the right resources, he is a good manager. After this, they should go ahead and reinforce several departments in their squad. When they get their TV rights money, they should spend it on players in these departments.
Strikers
The departure of Dmitri Payet was actually too much for the hammers to bear in the attacking department. With Payet, West Ham could comfortably play without a central no 9. But without him, it is not possible. The duo of Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho are always on the sidelines with injury. So, the hammers may want to make a change in that direction. The other option, Jonathan Calleri has not lived up and the youngster Ashley Fletcher is still young. That is why the team has to shop for two sharp forwards this summer.
This will become even more imperative if Carroll and Sakho are to go. This is where they cannot manage. For the Hammers to compete for anything next season, they need this. Some of the names that are coming up include the Chelsea lad, Mitchy Batshuayi who has only scored two premier league goals, albeit one of those sealed the trophy for Chelsea.
If they want something heavy, Defoe may be looked at. But more feasible options include Fernando Llorente of Swansea and maybe a loan spell for Kelechi Iheanacho of Manchester City.
Midfield
Now, the Hammers right wing is taken up by Sofiane Feghouli. But as much as he has been covering them there, he has not been as effective as a club that wants to fight should want him to. Again, when he is not there, there will be no one to replace him. This is why a lot of names have popped up as potential replacements in that position.
People have linked Lazar Markovic of Hull City to this position. There has also been a link to the young lad at Chelsea named Nathaniel Chalobah and even Ruben Loftus Cheek. While Chelsea will not be willing to sell any of these, a loan spell will be okay for the Hammers. If they need to sign someone on a permanent deal, then they can look towards Rachid Ghezzal of Lyon.
Right Back
One of the positions that give the club many problems is the right back position. The position was taken up by Sam Bryan, but hardly has he kicked the ball this season. In the bid to find a rightful fit for the right back, they have used Michail Antonio, Mark Noble, Havard Nordtveit, Cheikhou Kouyate and Alvaro Arbeloa.
But none of them has come up with the desired result. While Bryan will be returning next season, he needs an equally good backup. Who knows when the injury will happen again? News has it that Kevin Malcuit of Saint Etienne is being scouted, with other names like Zabaleta and Sagna also on the list. They need one of these to be sure of that position.
