How are West Ham shaping up for the new season?
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Pellegrini ready to iron out some flaws
There has been a steady stream of activity coming out of West Ham United since Manuel Pellegrini took over earlier this summer.
He has already made some fine acquisitions ahead of the new season and is on the hunt for more.
The Coral News Team take a look at how the Hammers are shaping up ahead of the 2018/19 campaign…
Premier League Experience
Premier League stalwarts Jack Wilshere and Lukasz Fabianski have arrived. The pair have a wealth of top-flight experience that will stand them in good stead.
Fabianski will surely solve the ongoing goalkeeper issue the club had last season. Adrian had been the club’s regular stopper but the arrival of Joe Hart last season changed the dynamic.
Hart came in with a huge reputation and was looking to keep his England place. However, he struggled to re-capture the form that saw him become one of the world’s best in 2012.
Fabianski has been solid but unspectacular. Just what the Hammers need.
Wilshere has been blighted but injuries for much of his career. But he fought his way into the Arsenal starting line-up last year and impressed on their run to the League Cup final and Europa League last-four.
A West Ham fan in his youth, Wilshere will be eager to prove his worth.
Young talent
The club have always had a fine reputation for nurturing young talent through the years.
Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick and Frank Lampard have all passed through the West Ham youth system.
Pellegrini fought off the likes of Barcelona, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur to secure the signing of Issa Diop.
The 21-year-old won’t shy away any on or off field responsibilities after being made captain by Toulouse last season.
His leadership qualities will be tested in the Premier League but may become vital if West Ham are fighting on more than one front next season.
The fans would love a cup run but will also have designs of challenging for Europe.
In Diop they have a player for the present and the future.
Foreign imports
Pellegrini is using his esteemed reputation in an attempt to bring some of Europe’s top talent to the London Stadium.
He’s lining up Brazilian Felipe Anderson and striker Andriy Yarmolenko to add guile and fire-power to his new-look outfit.
Both players would arrive with some real pedigree. Anderson was part of an impressive Lazio side last year. Despite missing nearly half the season with injury he managed 4 goals and 7 assists in 21 games.
Yarmolenko was in and out in his first season at Borussia Dortmund. But it’s understandable with so much confusion at management level last year.
But his international record shouldn’t be scoffed at with 35 goals in 76 matches.
The ‘West Ham way’ of playing has been somewhat of a legend around the club since the buccaneering side of Harry Redknapp back in the 1990s and early noughties.
But these additions could let the good times roll yet again…
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
