OPINION
If there is one thing that West Ham United have been good at recently, it is conducting good transfer business – their £100million spend up in the summer is testament for that.
While Manuel Pellegrini is not on the look-out for any players in particular in the January transfer window, that does not mean that some excellent deals can be made.
One of those deals should most definitely involve Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
The Daily Mail have reported that the midfielder is asking to leave the Blues on loan in January, with Crystal Palace one of the clubs interested in his services – but Everton could provide some competition as well.
The Hammers must hijack a move for the young ace in what would be a complete masterstroke by Pellegrini.
West Ham could do with an extra face in their midfield, especially now that Carlos Sanchez is injured and Jack Wilshere is on the sidelines still.
Wilshere has had his best games in a West Ham shirt so it would make complete sense to swoop for Loftus-Cheek to provide some peace of mind.
The 22-year-old is one of the country’s greatest young prospects and there is no doubt that he will fulfil his ambitions with England with some regular game time with the Irons.
With them, he can show people what he can really do, and this will only help him become a much better player.
Mark Noble is not getting any younger, and although he has excelled recently in West Ham’s new-look midfield trio, time is not on his side and he will eventually have to hand the baton on to someone else.
There is no better candidate than the 6ft 3in [Transfermarkt] player – he is a formidable force in the middle of the park, and he is known to have a licence to go forward effectively too.
This is why sealing his capture in January would be a masterstroke by Pellegrini – and he needs to be the one laughing in his rivals’ faces come the transfer window.