West Ham United have only themselves to blame for their downfall, and for the tantrums they are receiving from their attacking supremo, Dimitri Payet. The French superstar has refused to commit his future to the London-based club and is desperately seeking a way out of the Upton Park, which implies that they have to look for potential targets to fill the void that is to be created by the departure of Payet, which looks quite certain to happen.
The Hammers are just seven points away from the drop zone and with half of the season still to go, Slaven Bilić is reportedly interested in signing Chelsea’s young forward Michy Batshuayi and Swansea’s midfield veteran Gylfi Sigurðsson to add flamboyance, vigour and flair to his side. West Ham are in a problematic situation as they one of the many Premier League clubs to be hit by the Africa Cup of Nations in the months of January and February.
Bilić will be without two key men, i.e., André Ayew and Cheikhou Kouyaté due to AFCON, which makes the prospective acquisition of Batshuayi and Sigurðsson so crucial. A lot of questions have been raised after the downfall of the side despite the initial glimpses of hope under the tutelage of Bilić, which has brought a lot of intricacy to the club. Yes, signings in the ongoing transfer market holds paramount importance, but will the Hammers really reap dividends from the aforesaid incomings?
Batshuayi has fallen out of favour at Chelsea and has mustered merely a couple of full matches for the London-based outfit, that too in EFL and FA Cup. The Belgian international was signed for £33million in the summer but it has been Diego Costa’s impeccable form which has kept the 23-year-old at bay. His work-ethic, inclination to breeze past the defence with pace, poacher instincts up front and humungous confidence have earned him worldwide recognition. Yet, he has found opportunities pretty hard to come by at Chelsea and West Ham United must be aware of the situation.
On the other shore, Sigurðsson is arguably one of the best midfielders in the league and would be an ideal replacement for Payet. The Icelandic international has bagged 20 appearances for Swansea in the league so far this season, scoring five goals and assisting in six (and let’s note down that he has created 38 chances as well). He is the cog in Swansea’s midfield that gets the team ticking and if West Ham splash the requisite amount of cash to tempt the Swans, it could be one hell of a move.
Statistics Credits: Squawka.
