West Ham United named Manuel Pellegrini as their new manager, and having made such a high-profile appointment the east London outfit will already be aiming for a much-improved 2018/19 campaign.
Following a disappointing season and a 13th-placed finish, the 64-year-old will be eager to get to work quickly on strengthening his squad to ensure they do much better for the supporters, who are keen for the club to re-sign their former 30-year-old star who is now a free agent, next time around.
The Chilean boss has never finished outside of the top seven during his time in charge of Real Madrid, Villarreal, Malaga and Manchester City – for whom he won the Premier League title just four years ago – in European football, and he won’t want that record to end in 2019.
Pellegrini will know that he needs to add some real quality to his team to ensure that not only can they finish as the best of the rest, but also that they can make a serious challenge to gatecrash the so-called top-six clubs and try and finish above the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Arsenal.
There are certainly players out there that can help them to do that next season without the pressure of a European campaign on the side that their opponents will have, and the board need to follow on with their ambitious appointment with some new personnel of a similar standing.
Here are three huge signings that would ensure West Ham gatecrash the top-six party…
According to Spanish media outlet Mundo Deportivo, West Ham are in pole position to sign Barcelona defender Marlon Santos with the La Liga giants waiting on an offer from the east London club.
With Jose Fonte leaving for China in February, James Collins having been released and Winston Reid continuing to be hampered by injury issues, buying a top-class new centre-back needs to be a priority for Pellegrini, and the 22-year-old could be a classy answer to the problem.
The Brazilian shone during a loan spell with Nice this season, and as well having a hugely impressive passing accuracy of 94.6% in 26 appearances in Ligue 1 and the Europa League as per WhoScored.com, he showed his defensive nous by winning 39 of the 47 tackles he attempted.
Joao Mario is returning to Inter Milan following the end of his loan spell and it’s unclear whether there’s any chance he could return, so Pellegrini may well be looking for a new attacking midfielder this summer to work with the likes of Manuel Lanzini, Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez.
The 64-year-old would certainly be delighted if he was able to bring Benfica’s Talisca to the London Stadium following an outstanding campaign on loan at Turkish giants Besiktas, where he score 20 goals and provided a further eight assists in 47 appearances in all competitions.
His 6ft 3in frame, ability on the ball and to find himself in the right place at the right time, should mean that he would be a huge success for West Ham in the Premier League.
Like Talisca, the enigmatic Italian striker enjoyed a brilliant 2017/18 season and like Santos it was with Nice. But Balotelli is now set to be available on a free transfer this summer with his contract due to expire next month.
The 27-year-old showed his class with 26 goals in 38 appearances in all competitions for the Ligue 1 club this term, and not only would he bring a huge extra goal threat to the east London club, his addition would also be a statement of intent to West Ham’s Premier League rivals that they mean business.
While he has a character that divides opinion, there is no doubt about Balotelli’s quality on the pitch and he would almost certainly be a huge fans’ favourite, while he is a player that could easily galvanise the squad and lead them to a top-six finish.
Do you agree, Irons fans? Let us know below…
