Fan blogger Joe Difford reflects on an eventful deadline day for the Hammers...
It was a busy 24 hours at West Ham United, where four significant deals were concluded, leaving Slaven Bilic with a wealth of talent to choose from.
The return of Alex Song was the first news to be broken; more of a relief than anything as many fans have been hoping that he would opt for another season in east London all summer. With an already strong midfield, Song adds a new dimension, combining calm, composed passing with flair and trickery only a Barcelona player could exhibit.
Despite two impressive away victories against Arsenal and Liverpool, however, it was clear that we had to sign at least one winger, to give Bilic’s side variety, as the midfield has been rather narrow. Fans were treated to not one, but two wide men, Victor Moses and Michail Antonio.
Moses joins on loan from Premier League champions Chelsea after an impressive season on loan at Stoke. Moses was in such great form that Blues boss Jose Mourinho attempted to call the Nigerian back from Stoke, but the winger decided to stay. Unfortunately for Moses, a hamstring injury kept him out for the rest of the season, but he will be eager to impress in a claret and blue shirt this season.
Michail Antonio was a transfer target for some time and many fans had their fingers crossed that the Nottingham Forest man would make the switch to us. After weeks of speculation, Antonio finally completed his deal, leaving West Ham with two incredibly exciting wingers, sure to supply deadly service to the fourth and final signing of the summer, Nikica Jelavi?.
The Croatian striker has worked with Bilic before when the Hammers boss was the national team manager, and he clearly left a lasting impression. Jelavi? hit the ground running when he joined Everton in 2011, scoring 11 goals in 16 games, and will be looking to keep his place in the starting eleven once Enner Valencia, Andy Carroll and Mauro Zarate return from injury.
The summer transfer window has been a huge success for West Ham, and we have recruited enough men to field an entirely new eleven, and the areas of concern have been strengthened significantly.
Bilic now has the option of playing wider, with Moses and Antonio creating a broader diamond formation, whilst Kevin Nolan’s position has been filled by a world class midfielder in Alex Song.
Goals have clearly not been an issue for us so far this season, as we have netted nine times already, only one less than Manchester City, but with another forward, Diafra Sakho will now have a partner to make the front line even more deadly.
With some rather inconsistent results in the first month of Premier League action, it’s important we start picking up points at the Boleyn Ground and the four signings made at the end of the window will certainly help in doing that.
The existing squad has proven that they can compete with the best the league has to offer, and with Moses, Antonio, Song and Jelavi? now in claret and blue, fans should be excited to see what their new and improved side has to offer.
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The views in this article are those of the author and not neccessarily those of West Ham United