OPINION
West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini’s transfer activity has left him with a squad more than capable of achieving European qualification this season.
The Chilean boss, who guided former club Manchester City to a Premier League title during his three-year spell at the club, has promised to build an attacking yet balanced West Ham team.
“I will try to play attacking football and score a lot of goals because, throughout my career, I have always been a manager who plays offensive football and tries to attack,” Pellegrini told the official West Ham website.
“But to attack, you must defend very well also, so we must be a balanced team in West Ham.
“Last season, they had one of the worst defences in the Premier League, so this year we will try and be balanced while always thinking that we want to score one goal more than the opposition.”
The club record signing of Felipe Anderson, along with the addition of players such as Issa Diop, Andriy Yarmolenko and Jack Wilshere, are excellent purchases from Pellegrini but it does depend on whether the eight summer signings will click and gel together.
If they live up to their price tags and deliver, the team will be able to develop on their poor campaign last season and embark on a different path that could take the club towards a European qualification.
West Ham are familiar with the Europa League after participating in the qualifying rounds two years ago before narrowly missing out on qualifying after a play-off defeat to Romanian side Astra Giurgiu.
However, the side Pellegrini currently controls is far superior than the team that reached seventh in the 2015/16 season and the Hammers have a manager who is capable of achieving at the top of the English game.
The 64-year-old should solve the concerning defensive issues that West Ham faced last season, with the back four conceding an alarming 68 goals in the top flight.
He should also get the very best of Marko Arnautovic, a player who is capable of special moments but has not been guided by previous managers to perform to the best of his ability.
For the amount of money that West Ham have spent alone in this transfer window, it deserves to be rewarded with a high-place finish which, with the resources Pellegrini maintains, can certainly be granted.
