At the start of the month, West Ham fans were a little bit disappointed after hearing Slaven Bilic say that there is a 99% chance that there won’t be any new arrivals at The Boleyn Ground.
Fast forward 4 weeks and we’ve signed Sam Byram, Emmanuel Emenike is as good as done on a loan deal and there is still talks of more signings before the deadline on Monday. Whilst these signings have been forced because of injuries to Jenkinson and Carroll, it is always nice to see us attracting and signing big names.
There is also a possibly of one or two players leaving the club before the window shuts on Monday night.
Here are the players that could be coming or going this weekend:
Ins:
Davide Santon
There is a possibly of the versatile full back joining the squad for the rest of the season to add some much needed cover for Sam Byram and Aaron Cresswell. Norwich and Genoa are the clubs that appear to be in contention with us for his signing, but our league position would be an attraction for Santon so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Bilic get his man from under the noses of the others once again.
Mathieu Debuchy
If the Santon deal doesn’t materialise, Debuchy is the other full back linked with Upton Park on loan. Arsene Wenger stated earlier today that Debuchy could still leave the club before the end of the window. With competition from Sunderland and Aston Villa, Debuchy would surely be more keen on a move to West Ham if he got the opportunity. But this is one to watch for now.
Steven Fletcher
Steven Fletcher has been linked with West Ham for the first time today. The Scot has fallen out of favour at Sunderland under Big Sam, and does have a half decent Premier League record. The problem is that he wouldn’t really be an upgrade on Jelavic. Emenike is a risk, but he is far more exciting than Fletcher. If he can’t get into Sunderland’s team, then he won’t be anywhere near ours.
A deal that would outrage West Ham fans, let’s hope that this is just nonsense paper talk.
Burak Yilmaz
An ongoing saga over the past month. We have reportedly been closing in on Yilmaz, but the deal hasn’t really materialised as anything other than transfer talk. If Bilic wants Emenike and Yilmaz, then along with Sakho and Carroll when they return from injury that would be a credible strike force than could fire us to Europe. Another player that fans would rather see this week over Steven Fletcher.
Outs:
Nikica Jelavic
Jelavic looks like his time at West Ham could be up. Despite some real improvement over the last few weeks, the Croat could be signing for Guangzhou Evergrande before the end of the window. According to many media outlets, he has agreed terms and the clubs are finalising a deal. The deal won’t happen until we sign a replacement, so it is likely to be waiting on the Emenike deal to be finalised.
Reece Oxford
Oxford vented his frustration on Twitter as Charlton manager Jose Riga is unsure about the loan deal. Clearly Riga hasn’t seen much of Oxford, as he could certainly improve their squad. Oxford could now stay at the club, but if another Championship team comes for him, then a deal could go through in the next few days.
