OPINION
West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini has been one of the busiest men in the Premier League this summer, conducting a significant and exciting overhaul of his squad ahead of the upcoming campaign.
With the likes of Andriy Yarmalenko, Jack Wilsher and Felipe Anderson through the door, the Hammers faithful should be expecting to see almost a brand new starting XI when their side kick off this coming weekend – not a bad thing considering how lacklustre some of the performances have been over the last 12 months.
It seems as though the club’s business is not yet finished either, with Arsenal hitman Lucas Perez reported by TEAMtalk to be close, a transfer switch which could supposedly have further ramifications on the first team.
The report says that with the Gunners man coming in, striker duo Jordan Hugill and Andy Carroll are both set for the exit door, but while the former Preston man has hardly had a sniff of a chance, the Newcastle-born forward is a proven game changer.
When fully fit – which is a rarity – there are few better target men in the top flight, and he has shown time and again that he has the talent to be an important member of the senior side.
Powerful in the air and strong when it comes to holding the ball up, he gets the very best out of his team mates but also has no problem finding the back of the net both with his head and feet – something no one else in that West Ham side can do.
He might be injured until October but his attributes make him a one-off among the squad, and letting him go would be a massive transfer blunder by Pellegrini, especially if Perez – who hardly has the best top flight record – is to replace him.