West Ham United endured a less than successful campaign last time around but Slaven Bilic is determined to get them back to their best and is looking to make some stellar signings this summer. One player constantly linked with a move to the Olympic Stadium is Manchester City outcast Joe Hart.
After the arrival of Pep Guardiola at the Etihad, Hart was deemed surplus to requirements as the Spaniard spent on Claudio Bravo from Barcelona. Hart could not find suitors in England and had to settle for a loan stint in Italy, where he was decent. And reports from the Sun recently suggested that Bilic is ready to offer him a way out of City and that he has made the shot-stopper his priority transfer target for this window.
The report claims that West Ham are not willing to meet his £18m valuation but are ready to pay his wages on a loan deal for a year or two before they can spend on him. Manchester City have already allowed Willy Caballero to leave and have completed the signing of Ederson from Portugal to improve their options. So this loan deal to West Ham is profitable for the club and the player. But is it for West Ham? Is it the right move for Slaven Bilic?
West Ham currently have two shot-stoppers who are both 30-years of age. Adrian has been a long term servant at the club having joined them back in 2013. However, he managed to start just 16 games all season and has not filled Bilic with confidence. Randolph, who joined West Ham just a couple of years ago, has been used more extensively, making 22 appearances for the club, but was dropped for the last few weeks of the previous season.
Either of the two will surely be sold this summer and Bilic wants an able replacement who can cement his place in the first team for the entire campaign. And Hart is reportedly his first choice.
The first choice English shot-stopper has not been in great form in Italy, letting in 64 goals in just 38 appearances for the Italian side Torino. He has just six clean sheets to his name and has just not been able to fill the backline with confidence.
He would suit the English game better and is one of the very few options Bilic has for this summer but like many West Ham fans feel, he could turn out to be a liability. At 30, he is not younger than any of the players in this position it the current first team squad and if possible, it is best for the Hammers to look elsewhere.
