West Ham United have had a dismal start this season even after bringing in eight players as reinforcements to bolster the squad, spending in excess of £165 million last summer. The Hammers currently sit in the sixteenth position in the Premier League table after a poor 3-1 loss against league leaders Arsenal on boxing day. Thus, David Moyes has a number of concerns he needs to address before the January transfer window commences in order to avoid relegation at the end of this season.
David Moyes Will Have To Get West Ham Performing Consistently
The East London club have only won one of their last five league matches and have lost ten of the 16 league matches they’ve played so far. In terms of their performance on the pitch, the players have been inconsistent with their form and seem to lack the confidence to turn things around in a game. David Moyes will need to find a way to help them become consistent on the pitch if they wish to climb up the table.
If things were to remain as they are then the Hammers will have a tough time avoiding relegation, so Moyes will need to motivate the squad and bring them back in form as soon as he can as a few crucial fixtures lie ahead in the month of January.
West Ham United Will Need To Resolve Their Defensive Issue
West Ham found themselves without both of their big-money centre-backs Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd returning to action in the Premier League. The club spent £29.8m and £30m respectively in the last two summer windows to bring them aboard. However, Aguerd is yet to make a full league debut due to injury and Zouma has picked up an injury that will keep him sidelined for quite a while. This has led Moyes to pair Craig Dawson and Thilo Kehrer at the heart of West Ham’s backline and that did not go well as evidenced in their last outing.
So the Hammers boss will have to find a solution to his issues at centre-back, especially given the run of crucial fixtures to come in the month of January. He can either allow Angelo Ogbonna to start in place of Thilo Kehrer or bring a decent reinforcement who can create an immediate impact in the defensive third taking a significant risk.
Lack of options from the bench
Looking at the performance against the Gunners, one could argue that despite being outplayed by the North London club the Hammers were the first to find the back of the net and could have extended the lead if they had attacking substitutes on the bench. With Gianluca Scamacca and Maxwel Cornet both sidelined due to injuries, Pablo Fornals was the only attacking substitute left on the bench and he is certainly not known as a goal-scoring forward. So Moyes will need to add more depth to the squad in the January transfer window to bolster their attack.
