Promising West Ham duo Conor Coventry and Nathan Holland could still make the club’s pre-season trip to China despite having been left out the initial squad list, according to Claret and Hugh.
The West Ham news outlet claim that the 21-man squad is two names short of the 23 expected and that it leaves space open for both new arrivals to join up should they arrive soon or young talents to join the first team if signings are not forthcoming.
The report goes on to say that both Coventry and Holland, who were expected to be named among the travelling squad, could be in reserve for Manuel Pellegrini as the manager hunts a new centre forward to add to his side.
Opinion
It came as something of a surprise to see so few young players named among Pellegrini’s squad for their trip across the world but it would make sense that the Chilean wants to ensure he has space for new recruits should they seal some rapid deals. With Marko Arnautovic’s departure, the Hammers are severely lacking in options up front and the last thing the manager would want is for a new striker to have just weeks to bed himself in among the squad ahead of the new season. It seems unlikely that things will be completed in time for when the Hammers do jet off and so perhaps Coventry and Holland are battling it out for a space on the plane. With a lack of attackers among the squad, it might well be the winger who leads the way, although only Manuel Pellegrini will know exactly what he is looking over the coming weeks.
