Jase

Get Messi and Ronaldo as well while we're at it. WE'LL WIN EVERYTHING EVERY SEASON!

It's from John Cross but... https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/sky-sports-cut-up-25-24440422 Chelsea's pursuit of Inter Milan wing back Achraf Hakimi - also a target for PSG - might have set alarm bells ringing for Reece James. But Thomas Tuchel sees James’ long term future as a right sided centre half in a back three as he played there towards the end of last season, largely because they want someone better on the ball out wide. Chelsea boss Tuchel also likes Paris Saint Germain defender Marquinhos while Romelu Lukaku may be a more attainable target this summer as signing Erling Haaland will take crazy money and Borussia Dortmund do not want to sell, despite a reduced price clause kicking in next year.

I don't want to start a whole debate what would constitute a good window but as some have mentioned, we made a lot of investment into the squad last summer already and right now, we arguably need to just improve on 2-3 areas of the team. But as we know, it's difficult to sign the main targets this summer for various reasons. So either we stick to what we have for now or we go out and buy second/third rate players, something that I don't think many of us will like. Between Traore and Rice, the former is definitely the more of a filler. Matt Law was saying Traore, if bought, will be seen as a squad option and someone to come off the bench and make an impact. I don't believe that would be the case with Rice and the thing with Rice is - and I've been saying this - that we need another defensive midfielder to alternate with Kante or maybe even play with him. We haven't replaced Matic from years ago and Kante is the only midfielder we have with any defensive bones in him. But of course, West Ham will have to lower the asking price for the move to possibly happen this summer and/or maybe we throw Abraham in as part of a deal.

I wouldn't say we need someone who can score 10-15 goals from midfield. Someone who can score at least 5-10 from open play and add creativity to what we currently have in midfield would be welcomed. The problem is he acts like he's an ITK and also quotes dodgy sources. I don't disagree. Was just surprised to see Hennessy being linked, albeit by an unreliable source. Not sure if it's possible to loan Kepa out because of his wages. Matt Law said he could end up staying because no one could afford it. Different case of course if the club suddenly decide to fully cover it etc.

Someone to maybe replace Jorginho or Kovacic? Who do you think will be bought if it’s not Haaland or Lukaku? Tuchel and the club supposedly want prioritize quality over quantity and are supposedly willing to play the long game.

When exactly did he write for The Athletic? That tweet screenshot feels like a person just quoting a paragraph from one of their articles. Plus, an unreliable source is an unreliable source and I’m not the only one here who has said such things.

"Simon Phillips is from The Athletic" Are you confusing him with Simon Johnson?

I know the source is unreliable but...

Unless my memory has failed me, has there been anything about us wanting to sell Zouma? I know Tuchel wants a defender but all signs have been pointing to a RWB or right sided defender. Problem with those players is finding a buyer/taker. With Abraham for example, there seems to be only one club that can maybe afford him and that's Aston Villa. West Ham would like him as well, I believe, but they don't have the money. Until we know for sure there's concrete interest in our players and someone is willing to fork out the cash, it'll be hard for us to get any meaningful income.

If you wanna talk about players having their heart set on moving to a particular club, then I don't think we're Haaland's #1 choice based on some reports out there. I doubt he would mind staying for another year and then have the option to choose whichever club he wants next summer. He and Raiola can also get more money that way. Werner leaving is out of the question since he said he wants to stay and the club have no interest in selling him. And we're already trying to sell two other strikers this summer. Based on the unwanted players list, it seems like Abraham is the one that will fetch the most money and that is only at 40 million. Otherwise, you're looking at way less income than that. Also debatable whether clubs can afford to pay for our unwanted players. Another issue is that if we sign Haaland, it would likely mean we're gonna blow our entire transfer budget on one player when we arguably still also need a midfielder (since Gilmour is going on loan) and a defender. Tuchel, of course, is believed to want a signing for each area.

Is that not generally the case? 😛 A reason why we were able to spend big last summer and got most of our signings in early was because we had the money from the sale of Hazard and even Morata. This time, we have no such money waiting to be spent. If we want to get Haaland, we might have to start getting money from selling the deadwood and then Roman might make up the difference in the amount. Otherwise, I doubt he's inclined to just throw 150 million in from his own pocket (different case, I think, if it's just 60-70 million) - and that's just the potential transfer fee. there's still the agent fees, wages etc to consider - when his aim was to make sure the club is self sustainable.

As you alluded to yourself, that issue was arguably more down to how Tuchel set us up against the smaller sides. Lest we forget, this team were still the same team that were able to score goals and put away the smaller teams under Lampard. His downfall was obviously the tactical and defensive side of things, which Tuchel has helped fix/improve. So, Tuchel needs to find the balance on how he has us play against the bigger sides vs the smaller sides. Maybe use the back 4 more instead or use more attacking personnel in some positions. This pre-season and early parts of the season might also give Tuchel more time to work on our attacking plays, attacking patterns etc. Are we really in a do-or-die situation if we don't get a striker this summer? I don't get this constant doom-and-gloom. I don't know if it's because people are used to us winning things every season in the past, used to having a team that's the finished article and hence don't have the patience but we should remember that this team are still relatively young mostly and have plenty of room for growth and improvement. There is still more to come from this current group of players. Yes, there are certain areas in the team that can be improved on but at the same, we are also not in a terrible situation like some have made it out to be if we don't sign this player or that player. If we can't get Haaland or Lukaku or whoever, then maybe the next best solution is to find a midfielder who scores goals and creates chances. Because right now, our midfielders are averse to passing the ball forward and can only score if it's from the penalty spot. We used to have midfielders who can score goals from open play - Lampard, Ballack, Essien etc. Heck, even Fabregas used to do it here and there for us, even when we played the back 3 under Conte, to go along with his chance creation.

So, West Ham value Rice highly but want to pay him below what Yarmolenko is earning? 🤣

Not targeting at you specifically but this is what happens when people just believe every Tom, Dick, Harry on transfers out there and then when reliable sources say we haven't bid, negotiated etc, they get all mad, start to curse etc. It's the same case every bloody summer. It's like groundhog day!

According to Matt Law, West Ham need money to invest in the squad and if they want to do that this summer, they might want to sell him.