Football News: Where I would love to see West Ham United come the start of next Season

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Ed002 posted a couple days ago that West Ham United have nine players out of contract in the summer and a further seven entering their final year. So I wanted to use that information to highlight where I would love to see our squad come the start of next season.

This is my opinion and doesn't mean we are looking to sell any players or that they've even been linked, although I have tried to be realistic with my targets.

We have a 24 man squad currently and this is what it looks like (Position - Name - Age - Preferred Foot - Contract Expiry):

GK - Alphonse Areola (on loan) - 28yo - right footed - Jun 30, 2022
GK - Darren Randolph - 34yo - right footed - Jun 30, 2023
GK - David Martin - 35yo - right footed - Jun 30, 2022
GK - Lukasz Fabianski - 36yo - right footed - Jun 30, 2022
CB - Angelo Ogbonna - 33yo - left footed - Jun 30, 2022
CB - Craig Dawson - 31yo - right footed - Jun 30, 2023
CB - Issa Diop - 24yo - right footed - Jun 30, 2023
CB - Kurt Zouma - 27yo - right footed - Jun 30, 2025
LB - Aaron Cresswell - 32yo - left footed - Jun 30, 2023
LB - Arthur Masuaku - 28yo - left footed - Jun 30, 2024
RB - Ben Johnson - 21yo - right footed - Jun 30, 2022
RB - Ryan Fredericks - 29yo - right footed - Jun 30, 2022
RB - Vladimir Coufal - 29yo - right footed - Jun 30, 2023
CM - Alex Kral (on loan) - 23yo - right footed - Jun 30, 2022
CM - Declan Rice - 22yo - right footed - Jun 30, 2024
CM - Manuel Lanzini - 28yo - right footed - Jun 30, 2023
CM - Mark Noble - 34yo - right footed - Jun 30, 2022
CM - Pablo Fornals - 25yo - right footed - Jun 30, 2024
CM - Tomas Soucek - 26yo - right footed - Jun 30, 2024
W - Andriy Yarmolenko - 32yo - left footed - Jun 30, 2022
W - Jarrod Bowen - 25yo - left footed - Jun 30, 2025
W - Nikola Vlasic - 24yo - right footed - Jun 30, 2026
W - Saïd Benrahma - 26yo - right footed - Jun 30, 2026
F - Michail Antonio - 31yo - right footed - Jun 30, 2025

Of the nine players Ed002 highlighted had expiring contracts this summer (Areola, Martin, Fabianski, Ogbonna, Johnson, Fredericks, Kral, Noble and Yarmolenko) there are seven who are actually West Ham players with the other two being loan players.

I'd like to see us offer contract extensions to four of the seven with an expiring contract - Fabianski, Ogbonna and Johnson. With Martin offered an extension to his playing / mentoring of younger players contract as well (he is also a useful third choice keeper). The players whose contracts expire this summer that aren't offered new terms are Noble (who is retiring), Fredericks and Yarmolenko. I'd try to sell Fredericks and Yarmolenko in January, and should that be unsuccessful, let them go as free agents in the Summer.

Personally, I would look to sell the players that are clearly not getting a look in with games in January. Randolph is currently the third choice keeper behind Fabianski and Areola, he isn't getting games and his contract expires at the end of next season, so get him off the books and sell while we can still get some money for him. Masuaku isn't bad as a wing back or even a winger, but he is clearly a weak link in a back four and doesn't get considered if Cresswell is fit, the fact we are looking at other left backs to sign in January, we might as well sell.

I think all of the above most would probably agree with, but this is where the contentious decisions start.

Even with Kretinsky purchasing a stake, I think we would foolish to think that he is just going to throw money at the club. I am not even sure if he could with Financial Fair Play. So I would perhaps sell a couple of the unexpected names to bolster the purse strings this Summer. I don't see us selling players we've purchased or offered contract extensions to recently, so Dawson, Zouma, Coufal, Soucek, Benrahma, Vlasic and Antonio are all staying at the club, and it would be my preference not to sell the likes of Rice, Fornals and Bowen. so I am not even going to consider them. Now, we are already light in the left back department, made lighter by the fact I would sell Masuaku, so I also don't see us selling Cressewell either. Looking at our other 'assets' we've got Diop and Lanzini that we could potentially sell to raise money and if I am being honest, despite Lanzini' current form, I would sell both in the summer.

If we could replenish the squad with a couple of free agents, maybe a couple of loan deals and a couple of purchases; bringing in a mixture of young and hungry players with potential and experienced players to boot, I'd be delighted. I'd like to point out, I am not saying we should sign all of these players, I am not saying we will even look at these players, but these are the players I would look at if I were making the decisions. It is all my opinion and although I have tried to be realistic, I have put in a few names that I think will in all honesty be out of our reach due to other clubs interested.

There are three players with expiring contracts that I think we should look at signing in January for a fee - they play in England so pre-contract agreements can't be offered until the expiry of their current contracts - If the selling clubs aren't interested, I would definitely look to sign them on a free in the Summer (Position - Name - Age - Preferred Foot - Current Club):

GK - Sam Johnstone - 28yo - right footed - West Brom
CB - James Tarkowski - 29yo - right footed - Burnley
F - Jesse Lingard - 29yo - right footed - Manchester United

Quick side note - If we successfully signed Johnstone in January, I would not look to turn Areola' loan deal in to a permanent deal at the end of the season. It would also give us Areola, Fabianski and Johnstone as our three goalkeepers, which is a very strong bunch.

There are five players currently plying their trade abroad with expiring contracts that I think we should look at offering pre-contract agreements to in January - they would finish the season with their current clubs abroad before joining us in the Summer when their contracts expire (Position - Name - Age - Preferred Foot - Current Club):

CB - Niklas Sule - 26yo - right footed - Bayern Munich - Optimistic, but what's the harm in trying
CM - Boubacar Kamara - 22yo - right footed - Marseille - We could pull this off
CM - Denis Zakaria - 25yo - right footed - Borussia Monchengladbach - We could pull this off
CM - Franck Kessie - 25yo - right footed - AC Milan - Optimistic, but what's the harm in trying
F - Andrea Belotti - 28yo - right footed - Torino - We could pull this off

Quick side note - IF we successfully signed Kamara, Zakaria or Kessie in January on a pre-contract agreement, I would not look to turn Kral' loan deal in to a permanent deal at the end of the season. It is also worth pointing out that with Noble retiring and the sale of Lanzini, I would in all honesty look to sign two of Kamara, Zakaria and Kessie on pre-contract agreements.

Other players currently plying their trade in England with expiring contracts that I think we should look at signing if they are still available in the summer (Position - Name - Age - Preferred Foot - Current Club):

W - Todd Cantwell - 23yo - right footed - Norwich
F - Ben Brereton Diaz - 22yo - right footed - Blackburn Rovers
F - Divock Origi - 26yo - right footed - Liverpool
F - Eddie Nketiah - 22yo - right footed - Arsenal

Now for a list of players, in each position, I think we should look at signing either on loan or purchasing should we not sign any free agents or we still want to plump up our squad and strengthen. Again, I'd like to point out, I am not saying we should sign all of these players, I am not saying we will even look at these players, but these are the players I would look at if I were making the decisions. It is all my opinion and although I have tried to be realistic, I have put in a few names that I think will in all honesty be out of our reach due to other clubs interested.

CB - Duje Caleta-Car - 25yo - right footed - Marseille
CB - Joško Gvardiol - 19yo - left footed - RB Leipzig
CB - Maxence Lacroix - 21yo - right footed - Wolfsburg
CB - Nat Phillips - 25yo - right footed - Liverpool
CB - Nathan Ake - 26yo - left footed - Manchester City
CB - Nikola Milenkovic - 24yo - right footed - Fiorentina
CB - Sven Botman - 21yo - left footed - Lille
LB - Lucas Digne - 28yo - left footed - Everton
LB - Tyrick Mitchell - 22yo - left footed - Crystal Palace
RB - Max Aarons - 22yo - right footed - Norwich
RB - Tariq Lamptey - 21yo - right footed - Brighton
CM - Billy Gilmour - 20yo - right footed - Chelsea
CM - Ellyes Shkiri - 26yo - right footed - FC Koln
CM - Weston McKennie - 23yo - right footed - Juventus
CM - Yves Bissouma - 25yo - right footed - Brighton
W - Mikkel Damsgaard - 21yo - left footed - Sampdoria
W - Noni Madueke - 19yo - right footed - PSV
F - Adam Hlozek - 19yo - right footed - Sparta Prague
F - Arthur Cabral - 23yo - right footed - Basel
F - Jonathan David - 21yo - two footed - Lille
F - Mohamed Bayo - 23yo - right footed - Clermont Foot
F - Patrik Schick - 25yo - left footed - Bayer Leverkusen

Written by DIE_4_WHUFC January 07 2022 14:20:35