Transfer news from The Hammers…
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00:00Yes, and just on the transfer situation, obviously you mentioned the huge budget that was allowed
00:06in the summer. They made some fantastic signings, obviously still reinvesting that Declan Rice
00:14fee that they received for him. What do they need going forward to thrive under Potter?
00:20Obviously the strikers are probably the key area. Mikel Antonio had some fantastic years
00:26at West Ham. He's certainly slowing down by all means. And then obviously Falkirk has
00:31picked up that injury as well. Do you feel that your younger, fresher striker, the likes
00:36of maybe John Duran, who Aston Villa said that he's certainly off the cards, especially
00:42in the winter window, a player like that, really enthusiastic, can score plenty of goals
00:48as well. I mean, they are sort of gold dust and every team could do with one. But is that
00:53the simple solution to where Potter wants to build in the future?
00:58100 per cent. And it's been a problem at West Ham for decades. It's been well spoken about,
01:04the club's failure and struggles to sign a proper centre-forward who can score goals,
01:09who can stay fit consistently and regularly in the Premier League. So many have come and
01:14gone over the years. The most recent ones being Skamaka and Pallera have both arrived.
01:19Big names, lots of expectation and just haven't fit the style of play. Struggled in the Premier
01:24League and then left for a big loss and then gone on elsewhere in Europe and done really
01:29well. Haller at Dortmund and Skamaka at Atalanta. So there's a lot of pressure on the club now
01:36to get it right. And there isn't much room for failure now because, like you said, Falkirk's
01:42out for at least another two, three months. Antonio won't play again for the rest of the
01:47season after his car accident before Christmas. We're just getting Jarrod Bowen back after
01:52breaking his foot. And so all we're really left with is Danny Ings. Now Danny Ings runs
01:57about and does very well, but he's also an ageing striker who's had his best days. The
02:02best days are behind him in the Premier League. So it would be unfair on him to rely on him
02:07to score us the goals to get us back in the top 10. So the last week of the transfer window
02:12is incredibly important for the club and for Graham Potter to get the right striker in.
02:17Now, it probably will likely be a loan deal. There's a number of names that have been linked.
02:22I think the John Duran ship has sailed, unfortunately for West Ham. I mean, we should have paid
02:27the 40 million that Villa wanted in the summer. Instead, we chose Falkirk on a three or four
02:32year deal for silly money and it just ended up being not a very good deal economically.
02:39But yeah, it's not going to be John Duran. But you know, there's talk of Brian Broby
02:42at Ajax. He could come in on loan with an obligation to buy. I quite like the look of
02:47that because he's young, he's quick, he's strong. Not getting a lot of game time at
02:53Ajax at the moment. So that could potentially be a good fit for us. And we've had success
02:57taking players from Ajax. Kudos we got from Ajax. Edson Alvarez we got from Ajax. So that's
03:02given me a little bit of hope.
03:04And then there's also Evan Ferguson as well. I like the idea of us perhaps bringing him
03:08in on loan at the last minute just to give him some game time because it was only two
03:12years ago he was being touted as a Champions League striker, £100 million worth of a player.
03:18And if we've got the chance to get him on loan, even if it's just for six months and
03:21he goes back to Brighton and he can score plenty of goals, then I'm all for it. So striker
03:27is key, but we also need to bring in a centre-half. I think that's been made very clear. The defence
03:33that we had against Villa on Sunday evening, only one recognised centre-back in Max Killman,
03:39and now Rapanos being suspended, said Ibo's injured for at least another two or three weeks.
03:43So we need another centre-back, ideally, just to come in and just help us out with numbers.
03:51We can bring in a centre-back and a striker. I think that'd be a good window. I think there
03:55are rumours that Potter wants a midfielder as well, just to give us a little bit more
03:57mobility and a little bit more pace in midfield. But the striker is the big number one priority.
04:03And if we don't do that, then I worry for Potter and West Ham over the final three or
04:08four months of the season.