West Ham United were one of the busiest clubs in the transfer market last summer, but their acquisitions have not translated to results on the pitch as they had to endure a difficult campaign so far this term. The Hammers have flattered to deceive with their performances on the pitch in recent weeks and have often been inconsistent which has put them into the ‘mid-table mediocrity’ bracket.
Manuel Pellegrini are still quite far away from challenging for a top 6 place, so another summer rebuild looks set to be on the cards as the Hammers boss tries to right his wrongs from last summer by making some shrewd signings during the summer transfer period.
Here are three players West Ham should look to sign in this off-season.
Ryan Sessegnon
The Fulham wonderkid has been a sporadic feature at Craven Cottage this season after his wonderful breakout year in the last term. Sessegnon has struggled to cope with the high intensity of the Premier League, but he has still managed to put in a few dazzling displays for the Cottagers during this campaign.
The 18-year-old has made 34 appearances for Fulham this season, scoring two goals while grabbing six assists in all competitions. Pellegrini has shown that he can get the best out of his young players as evidenced by the recent emergence of Declan Rice. Thus, Sessegnon could benefit from a move to the London Stadium after he gets relegated from the English top-flight with Fulham at the end of this season.
Moussa Marega
The FC Porto forward has been a real revelation in the Liga NOS this season. He has stepped up and lit up the top tier of Portuguese football with some match-winning performances after his strike partner Vincent Aboubakar suffered a severe injury in the early stages of this campaign.
Marega was also a constant threat for the Liverpool defence in both legs of Porto’s quarterfinal tie versus the Reds in the UEFA Champions League. The 28-year-old has scored 18 times and grabbed 11 assists in 41 appearances for the Liga NOS giants this season. He could be an ideal candidate to ease West Ham’s goal-scoring woes in the upcoming season.
Francesco Acerbi
The Serie A centre-back has been a rock at the back for Lazio this season. The Italian defender has featured in 32 league matches for Lazio this term and has three goals and one assist to his name. More importantly, the 31-year-old has made an average of 1.2 tackles, 1.9 interceptions and 4.5 clearances per match in all competitions.
The Hammers could benefit from adding a player of Acerbi’s quality and experience to their backline so Pellegrini should consider recruiting him this summer.
