Paul Merson gave West Ham’s transfer business a B- and shared his doubts over their capture of Jordan Hugill.
The pundit graded every Premier League team’s transfer dealings in a post for Sky Sports and awarded the Hammers one of the lowest marks, with only four teams being ranked lower.
West Ham ended the transfer window having signed Joao Mario from Inter Milan and Jordan Hugill from Preston North End.
Merson confidently predicted that David Moyes’ side had done enough to stay up, but admitted he wasn’t sure about Hugill following his arrival from Preston.
“Joao Mario is decent and I think they’ll stay up this season,” said the pundit.
“As for Hugill, I think it’s quite a big step from the Championship.
“People tell me there’s not much between the two divisions but I don’t agree, it’s a big jump to come up and score goals in the Premier League.”
The 25-year-old centre-forward was Preston top scorer this season before departing, having scored 10 goals in 29 appearances across all competitions.
Hugill joined West Ham on transfer deadline day, with the BBC reporting that he cost the club in the region of £10million.
The centre-forward signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with the Hammers, according to Sky Sports, and he was given the number 12 shirt to wear.
OPINION
Merson is being generous by giving the Hammers a B- for their transfer business, especially as several problems still remain. Moyes’ side still look drastically short of midfielders, despite the marquee signing of Mario, and that could prove costly in the second half of the season. West Ham are currently only four points clears of the relegation zone, with several crucial games against their relegation rivals to come. With the gap being so small, the Hammers really needed to ensure they had a squad capable of dealing with the hectic run towards the end of the season. However, if the side was to sustain one or two injuries in midfield, then they’re in deep trouble.