Dean Ashton revealed that while West Ham have some great attacking players the club need to invest in some new defenders and midfielders in the summer.
The former Hammers forward complimented David Moyes’ side’s attacking flair but claimed they needed to splash the cash on other areas of their team in order to ensure they have a great season next year.
“[There are] some great attacking players, but I think they need a few more defenders and they certainly need two or three midfield players, for me,” said Ashton on talkSPORT, as quoted by the radio’s website.
“But you can see there’s a nucleus of players there, where, whoever it is – David Moyes- or a new manager – who comes in, they’ve got great attacking flair and if they can be shored up at the back and in midfield there’s no reason why they can’t have a great season next year.”
The Hammers won their last game of the season 3-1 against the Toffees on Sunday to see themselves finish 13th in the Premier League.
OPINION
Ashton knows the expectations of playing for the Hammers after playing 45 times for the club between 2006 and 2009, and is spot-on with his assessment of where the club needs to spend their transfer budget. The Hammers have Manuel Lanzini and Marko Arnautovic in their squad, so when it comes to attacking players those two are enough to grab enough goals to fire their side up the league. Though it would still be nice if the pair had better cover on the bench, as the likes of the injury-prone Andy Carroll can’t be trusted to step-in for players like Arnautovic if required. However with the Hammers team needing a lot of new arrivals and other areas being in more desperate need of improvement, that’s where the club have to focus their efforts. While the former Hammers forward doesn’t state who the club will sign, he pinpoints the amount of players that are needed in midfield by saying two or three. It seems two or three quality additions would benefit the Hammers, but they do need some signings made in that department to add depth to their squad.
