FIVE players West Ham should sell

As the transfer deadline creeps ever closer, West Ham are still a signing or two away from completing their squad, with a new striker being the most obvious signing on the West Ham agenda; the question remains as to how they will be able to afford one?

With the Hammers close to their £52 million wage cap; it was confirmed that they must sell before any new arrivals come in.

Here’s my list of players I think we can afford to lose; in order to free up some cash and ease the wage bill!

George McCartney – With the arrival of Razvan Rat, it was almost inevitable that McCartney’s future would be put in doubt. Many people question his Premier League ability and although he has proved a worthy servant for us in the past; I feel now would be the perfect time for him to move on. Danny Potts is climbing the ranks and isn’t far from surpassing McCartney (If he hasn’t already) and Rat looks set to be our first choice, so that leaves McCartney as more of a third choice left back. Injuries have also affected George as of late and I feel anymore long term knocks will add to the difficulty of him securing a first team spot!

Alou Diarra – Although Alou hasn’t had a proper chance at West Ham; most of that was his own doing. Since returning the French international has made up with Sam Allardyce and featured quite heavily in our impressive pre-season but due to our abundance of midfielders and his high wages I feel we should let him go, permanently! If you look at our current midfield you’ll see that we are highly equipped and it should be considered our strongest area of the field. I see Diarra as more of a cover option if Mohamed Diame gets injured, and with the wages his commanding we simply can’t afford to be paying big money to a player who’ll come on for the last 15-20 minutes, he won’t like it and the fans will become frustrated!  I feel a move abroad would suit Diarra quite nicely…

Matthew Taylor – Matty T hasn’t really featured for West Ham since the arrival of Matthew Jarvis from Wolves last year. The wings are pretty much covered and, like Diarra, I see Taylor as a cover option at best. I admire his work rate but feel that he isn’t up to the task anymore. With it being rumoured that a couple of Championship sides are keeping their eyes on Taylor, I see that as the perfect opportunity for the man to go and a play some first team football. Lets not lie about it, Taylor hasn’t got the ability anymore to compete with players Like Jarvis, Downing and Ravel. Even in his prime he was known for the odd spectacular goal; more than anything else!

Stephen Henderson-Signed from cash strapped Portsmouth last season, Henderson has failed to start any Premier League games; featuring in a couple of cup games. Now with the summer arrival of Adrian to go alongside Jussi Jaaskelainen, and reserve goalkeeper Spiegel, that means we have 4 goal-keepers on the books, so I feel letting Henderson go wouldn’t do us any harm; most fans probably wouldn’t even notice. After a loan spell to Championship side Ipswich Town, Henderson put in some strong performances, but since returning he has remained pretty distant from any first team activities so its surely only a matter of time before Hendo is off again?

Ricardo Vaz Te – This was a difficult one to put down as I still think that he could be a valuable asset to the club but with the inclusion of Stewart Downing I struggle to see where Vaz Te will fit in? Last season he was mainly played out of position and I feel that If he was played as a left winger or upfront he’d do well, but the manager knows best! If a decent enough offer came in for Ricardo I feel it would be wise to allow him to move on, for a Championship team he’d do well. I think chances will be limited for Ricardo this season and although I massively appreciated he contribution in our play-off winning season, you have to move on in football!