It has not been a great time of late to be a West Ham fan, but with unlikely wins against Tottenham and high-flying Sunderland in the bank, things could finally be looking up. As I write this, the transfer window is a few days away from closing, but activity in that area has been almost as turbulent as the season so far.
The David Sullivan Balancing Act
We have seen high-profile players leave, like Lucas Paqueta, and the absurdity of allowing a player to not only go to a rival team in the relegation zone but to also pay 30% of James Ward-Prowse’s wages to boot. As usual, it appears to be a balancing of the books by David Sullivan; it looks as if he’s shelled out loads of cash, but in reality, he has hardly spent a penny. Looking at this transfer window so far, we have certainly added to the forward line.
At present, we have brought in Taty Castellanos for £25.2 million from Lazio, Pablo Felipe for £21.8 million from Gil Vicente, Keiber Lamadrid on loan, and Adama Traore for around £2 million from Fulham. That’s a total spend of around £49 million. Leaving us this window are Lucas Paqueta for £36 million to Flamengo and Luis Guilherme for £12.2 million to Sporting CP, along with Andy Irving and Guido Rodriguez for undisclosed fees.
This leaves a net spend of just under one million. Add to this the fact that we have sent out on loan several players, including ‘Our Big German’ Niclas Fullkrug – thus saving on wages – and you can see Sullivan laughing all the way to the bank. No change there, then. One thing the transfer window has shown is a significant change in the balance of the squad, with three of the four signings being forwards and the other being a winger.
Taty Castellanos: Peak Potential or Growing Pressure?
So, has this imbalance been rectified? Worryingly, rumour has it that two of the signings are Sullivan’s picks and not Nuno’s recruits. First up is Taty Castellanos. From what we have seen so far, Taty has a clear desire to succeed. He has potential; after all, he did win the Golden Boot in the MLS just a few years ago and famously scored four goals in one match against Real Madrid when playing for Girona, so he does have good form.
He has found the net once for West Ham, albeit in the FA Cup against QPR, but he has yet to score in the Premier League, and that’s where the problem lies. Like all strikers, he gains confidence when he scores, but as the wait for a Premier League goal continues, this could become an issue. He has been active and fully involved, but we can say that about many of the strikers we have had at West Ham. He is still adapting to the Premier League and has shown a great deal of promise, but he needs to start scoring quickly, otherwise, all this early promise will come to nothing. At 27, he should be reaching his peak. Long term, he looks like he could fit well at West Ham, but the problem is that we do not have a great deal of “bedding in” time left.
Pablo Felipe and the Risk of the “Prospect”
This brings me to our second new forward, Pablo Felipe. Unlike Taty, it seems that Pablo is a genuine Nuno signing. At just 22, his track record makes him look like a bit of a steal. He has already shown at his previous clubs that he is powerful and hardworking. At Gil Vicente, he scored 10 goals in just 13 games. In those performances, he showed he could hold off defenders and was quite relentless.
Unlike Taty, I feel he looks physically ready for the Premier League, technically sharp, and appears to be a natural goal scorer. But despite all this, he has yet to score since arriving in the East End. I worry he could be a prospect – yet another who needs to adapt to the rigours of the Premier League. A goal will give him huge confidence and, I feel, will push him to the next level. But like Taty, the longer the drought goes on, the more pressure this will put on the youngster.
That leaves our third new forward, Keiber Lamadrid (and yes, I’m categorising Traore as a winger). Keiber is the same age as Pablo but, in the words of our manager, he is a player that is ‘not match fit’. Feelings are that he is still raw and nowhere near Premier League ready. He is not an out-and-out forward and, like Traore, plays often on the wing. His return at his last club, Deportivo La Guaira, isn’t great – just 14 goals in 103 appearances – but he has played once for his national side, Venezuela. If anything, he is one for the future.
Lessons from 1997 and 2011: Reinvestment or Panic?
So, where does our rebalancing act sit? Is it great reinvestment or a panic buy? I am old enough to remember West Ham in a similar position with relegation beckoning, only for the club to invest in two strikers at this time of year; one worked and one didn’t. Way back in 1997, we signed John Hartson and Paul Kitson, and they were instrumental in keeping us up that season. They scored 14 goals between them in 13 games. Kitson scored in his first West Ham game, and Hartson in his second appearance. They both hit the ground running because they knew the league – unlike our recent acquisitions.
Compare that to January 2011 and the signings of Demba Ba and Robbie Keane. Ba scored seven goals in just 12 games, but Keane managed only two. Ba was a revelation, while Keane was a disaster, and we were relegated that year. Taty reminds me a bit of Ba: instant energy and a willingness to run and run. He looks like a player that could suit Nuno’s direct, transitional style. If he catches fire, he could be the one to drag the team forward. He just needs a goal. If Pablo settles, he could be a bonus, but perhaps not the one to pin our safety to.
Survival on the Shoulders of the Unproven
In 1997, we had two new strikers who hit the ground running. In 2011, only one was a success. It’s clear we need both firing on all cylinders, which is a worry. Neither has set the scoresheet alight yet, and time will soon be running out. The next few games will be crucial for the team’s future and the reputation of our new signings.
I believe they can be successful in Nuno’s system, but the longer the drought continues, the more worrying it becomes. We have had a few great results lately, but Taty and Pablo have the club’s future on their shoulders. Only time will tell if they are up to the challenge. It’s a gamble trusting our survival to two players with no prior Premier League experience. Let’s hope the West Ham striker curse doesn’t continue and both prove to be intuitive buys. The next few weeks will give us the answer.
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