Despite the very exciting signing of winger/playmaker Dimitri Payet from Marseille, will we be seeing any more winger additions to the squad and more to the point, do we need any more of them?
We are not sure yet what is going to be the preferred formation that Slaven Bilic is going to use but last season at Besiktas he was regularly using the 4-2-3-1 formation which included two wide players in the side.
With the players that we currently have and are being linked with, the 4-4-2 diamond formation best suits us but it is still a must to have quality wide men as options in the squad, to make the team less predictable on occasions. 3-5-2 is also a very viable option should we re-sign Carl Jenkinson. Both he and Aaron Cresswell would make excellent wing-backs.
Our current options on the wings are Payet, who we have already mentioned, Stewart Downing, Morgan Amalfitano and Matt Jarvis. Enner Valencia and Diafra Sakho can certainly play wide too, although I think most of us would agree that we would prefer to see both of them playing the majority of games as central strikers.
Personally I would prefer it if we managed to move Jarvis on before the transfer deadline and bring in two more central midfield players, hopefully Alex Song and someone in Yohan Cabaye’s creative ilk to add balance to the fearsome power we have now in Pedro Obiang and Cheikhou Kouyate.
A first team striker, Jenkinson, plus a younger backup option at right back are needed and if the club can sign someone at centre-half that can be a step up in class for the first team like Angelo Ogbonna or Aymen Abdennour to go with the recruitments of Randolph, Hendrie, Obiang and Payet, then that would be a perfect transfer window for the club.
If Slaven Bilic does decide to splash out on another striker then surely that means that he will be looking to play with a front two on most occasions with Sakho, Valencia, Andy Carroll, Mauro Zarate and dare I say Modibo Maiga still at the club. Maiga will surely leave the club though, maybe on another season-long loan deal and Zarate will get the pre-season to prove his worth by the looks of things which is sensible.
Bearing all this in mind I think we already have enough options out wide as we really should be playing the diamond formation for the majority with Payet at the tip of it. This will enable the team to have two up front, whilst having enough bodies in the middle of the park so that we are not outnumbered and overrun.
If an exceptional winger became available though and we have some money left over after we have completed our other business, then it would be great to have another option but right now we have other priorities in my opinion.
This is how I would like to see the first team squad for the forthcoming 2015/16 season: (Players in brackets are possible signings before the end of the transfer deadline)
Sell if possible: Nolan, Jarvis and Maiga
Loan out with recall clause: Burke, Henry and Poyet,
GK: ADRIAN, RANDOLPH, SPIEGEL
RB: (Jenkinson), (Johnson) O’BRIEN
LB: CRESSWELL, HENDRIE
CB: REID, (Ogbonna), TOMKINS, COLLINS
DM/CM: KOUYATE, OBIANG, (Song), NOBLE
AM/W: PAYET, (Cabaye), DOWNING, AMALFITANO,
F: SAKHO, VALENCIA, CARROLL, (Remy/Austin) ZARATE,
Imperative we bring in at least one quality goal scorer ( note I don’t use the word “striker”). Carroll probably won’t last 5 games before he’s injured again – Sakho also missed large chunk of last season with injury – Valencia is not a centre forward. We needed to strengthen in all areas, and looks like some good signings being made, but ignore bringing in a proven goal scorer at our peril. Lack of goals last season was alarming – don’t think we scored more than one goal in a game for about three months. If we do get quick injuries to Sakho and Carroll ( think the latter is obligatory) then we will probably stumble towards the next transfer window……..don’t let it happen, West Ham, make a proven goal scorer a must have signing !
Imo the two areas in which we are dangerously deficient are at right back and in the goal scoring department.
Untill the loan/permanent deal is completed for Jenks I believe we have nobody of EPL quality in this position.
Equally, apart from Sakho we do not have another out and out goalscorer. Strikers yes but nobody else who is going to score 10-15 goals each season, barring injury.
Therefore we should make it our priority to sign backup for jenks(anybody but glen Johnson!), and another goal scorer. Either Austin/ Remy would do nicely. then if we could sell Downing and bring in cabaye our work would be nearly done.
Then it would be who we could bring in on loan deals and that would be about it.