Would this be West Ham’s ‘Dream Midfield’ next season?

Our midfield last season was probably the strongest we’ve had for many years.

Stewart Downing’s reincarnation, Alex Song head and shoulders above everyone else, Cheikhou Kouyate just generally being a beast and Morgan Amalfitano being one of the surprisingly decent signings of the summer – it really was a very, very good midfield.

But Slaven Bilic’s arrival carries a major threat to our midfield’s unity, which will undoubtedly prove to be a good thing.

The fact we’re being linked with so many exciting midfielders is a huge indication that Bilic wants his midfield to be one of the focal points of his revolution in England.

That may mean seeing some of the favourites of last season fighting extremely hard to keep their place in the team – and believe me, it breaks my heart to think Mark Noble may end up with a bit-part, or second choice, role next season.

The arrival of Pedro Obiang is the start, but who’s next? Beaing in mind Bilic prefers to play a 4-2-3-1 formation, here’s a look at our dream 2-3 of that line-up next season…

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Pedro Obiang

Obiang appeared to have been brought in to fill the void left by Alex Song, but the reports that we’re still in for Song suggests Bilic wants back up in that area, which is fine.

Obiang has been labelled the next Yaya Toure in the past, so it’ll be interesting to see how he adapts to the Premier League and the impact he makes in claret and blue.

Cheikhou Kouayate

It did take some time for Kouayate to really come in to his own last season, but he always showed that potential to be a huge player for us.

It was as if he suddenly came in to his own once Song’s form started to take a nose dive, and his time at AFCON proved how much we needed him.

And he can cover in defence when needed, which could be vital if we’re going to have a real stab at the Europa League next season.

Dmitri Payet

If reports are to be believed then we’re on the verge of confirming Payet’s arrival.

If we have managed to tempt him to east London then we’ll have one hell of an attacking midfielder on our hands. He”s a creator, a flair player and a goalscorer, which is exactly the sort of midfielder we need.

Let’s hope we can get him in the bag pretty quickly.

Yohan Cabaye

The Frenchman has admitted his desire to leave PSG this summer and reports claim we’re going head-to-head with Palace for his signature.

In reality there shouldn’t be any contest there, but Alan Pardew might just have that extra pull to get Palace over the line. Cabaye has admitted in the past that he’d like to work under Pardew again.

But the pull of european football should swing that deal back in our favour. We all know what Cabaye is capable of from his time at Newcastle, so it’s obvious he’d be a huge signing for us.

Gokhan Tore

We’re all expecting Bilic to return to Besiktas for one or two of his best players from his time there, and Gokhan Tore’s name has been thrown around quite a lot over the last few weeks.

He’s the attacking player we could really benefit from in Bilic’s system and he has experience in Europe, which is of course a bonus.

Hopefully we can bring him to the Premier League before the summer starts.