In days gone by, if I was to write about West Ham’s transfer dealings, I would be able to write it on a postage stamp. This off season though, I would have needed a full billboard and then some, that’s just how many new signings we have obtained.
It’s early days but it may be worth just looking at what we have so far seen in these first few weeks of the season. It has to be said that it has been a cautious start for the new boys in the claret and blue with only six of the mini bus load of new signings actually getting any game time in our first four games.
The pick of the crop has to be Max Kilman who has started and completed all four games, followed by Guido Rodriquez who has started three. He came on as a substitute in the other one and of those three starts, he was only substituted once with five minutes to go.
Add to that Aaron Wan Bissaka, who was really only available for three of those first four games, and he’s started two of them. It has to be said that these three new signings look likely to become regulars.
Of the remainder, Jean-Clair Todibo has been a bit-part player with two insignificant substitute appearances and a start against Bournemouth but then substituted. The big German striker, Niclas Füllkrug has made one start, but was substituted, and has had three substitute appearances and therefore has yet to make an impact.
The final one of the half dozen – Crysencio Summerville – has made just one start and was substituted along with two again insignificant substitution appearances. What of the others? Well, Wes Foderingham and Luis Guilherme have made the bench with only, due to his late signing, Carlos Soler yet to feature at all.
I do expect Soler to feature, after all PSG did buy him from Valencia for €18M so he has to be pretty good. At the moment though it seems that Rodriquez and Kilman are the cream of the crop.
Kilman, of course, is known to our new manager having played for Julen Lopetegui when he managed Wolves. He does look the real deal and seems to be a real no nonsense defender, solid and someone I think we have not had since the early days of Winston Reid and more recently Craig Dawson.
Kilman was highly thought of by the Wanderers faithful. During his time in the Midlands, he was named club captain and made over one hundred Premier League appearances. After signing a lucrative contract that should have kept him at the club until 2028, it was a bit of a surprise that we managed to get him to leave.
I guess an even better contract plus Wolves getting a transfer fee of around £40 million, four of which went to his former club Maidenhead United, may have had a hand in the decision. What we do have is a 27 year old with vast experience and I know it’s early days but I feel he will be a starter for most of the season.
I also believe that in Guido Rodriquez we have a steal as I feel that the early signs of his partnership with Alvarez means that we will hopefully not miss Paqueta if he is found guilty of match fixing. Rodriquez is an established international player. He was a slow burner at Real Betis but eventually came good making 139 La Liga appearances.
He’s not a real goal scorer but could be the holding midfielder we need since the transfer of Declan Rice to some minor North London club of no significance. Rodriquez, having come as a free agent, could be the steal of the season.
Aaron Wan Bissaka could also be another great signing. He lost his place initially at Manchester United due to illness and injury and not due to a lack of form. However it seems he was surplus to requirements and we were the team to gain his services.
At just 26, he could be a starter for years in our team and gives us a defender that will scare the living daylights when he bombs up the wing. His early performances look promising and I feel again he could be a real steal.
One other player that I liked when I saw him play was Summerville. I thought he looked great against Bournemouth and was disappointed when he was substituted in the second half of that game. I think he can have a real impact at our club. I just hope he gets a chance.
As for the others, only time will tell and I really hope our big German striker doesn’t get the West Ham curse that seems to affect our forwards since the takeover by Sullivan. One other I would like to give a special mention to is Carlos Soler. At the time of writing, he has yet to make an appearance having signed on transfer deadline day, or close to that.
This is a player who once had a €150 million release clause to his name and seems to be the real deal. It will be interesting to see how he performs in the next few months.
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