As the summer transfer window rumbles on West Ham, like always, are being linked with dozens of players again. This article with give you an overview of seven of the names that keep cropping up in the rumours.
Loic Remy
West Ham are linked with Remy every transfer window and previously nothing has gone beyond just rumours. However this time it could be different. The ‘Boleyn Insider’ said that he believed that the club had made ‘a multi-million pound bid for a top French international’. That bid is rumoured to be for Remy and the club will know in a few days if the bid is accepted. Should we sign the Striker, our strikeforce would be greatly improved. Remy has a great goalscoring record and is a natural finisher. He only started 6 of his 21 games for Chelsea last season but still managed to get 7 goals. The year before that at Newcastle, he got 14 goals in 26 games. One thing is for sure he would bring goals but is he worth the rumoured £8 million that we have bid for him? Especially when the next name on the list is available on a free.
André-Pierre Gignac
Another striker we are linked with every other transfer window is available on a free from Marseille. Rumours may begin to die down now that we have bid for Remy however West Ham should definitely consider the French frontman. Gignac has been on fire this season finishing second in the overall Ligue 1 scorers chart with 21 goals, more than Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edison Cavani of PSG. Considering both of the PSG strikers are worth at least £30 million each then to have the option of getting Gignac on a free is incredible. The downside to the French striker is that he firstly relatively old at 29 years of age and also is considered to be more of an aerial presence for which we already have Andy Carroll. Maybe West ham should be looking at a pacey striker more like Loic Remy?
Andre Ayew
We have been linked with the Ghanaian left winger all week and he is also available on a free from Marseille. Unfortunately it looks like we will miss out on this talented player as Swansea have come in for him and is reported to be having a medical today. This may be because we missed out on the appointment of current Marseille coach Marcelo Bielsa and this is possibly where the rumours originated from. Andre Ayew may have wanted to link up with his former boss however it is unlikely he will come to West Ham now despite us offering a substantial offer as it seems that Swansea have offered even larger wages. I hope this isn’t another ‘Wilfried Bony’ who we almost signed before Swansea did.
Gökhan Töre
We come to the first of two Besiktas players who Slaven Bilic managed last season. Töre is Turkish winger who Bilic signed twice while he was at Besiktas firstly on a season long loan and then permanently last summer. He is more of a tricky, pacy winger who has a good eye for a pass. What would be most beneficial about bringing in Töre is the fact that it would allow Downing to be played in a favoured central position while also allowing Bilic to implement his tactics easily as Töre already knows how Bilic wants his team to play. Manchester United were interested in January and Manchester City have plotted a move this summer so if West Ham can bring him in that would be a major coup. The one thing that goes against Gökhan Töre was that he was at the centre of an incident involving his Turkish team mates Omar Toprak and Hakan Calhanoglu who were threaten by Töre with a gun. West Ham could do without the drama these days.
Olcay Şahan
Another winger from Besiktas who we have been linked with however Şahan poses much more a goal threat over Töre with 27 goals in 98 games for Besiktas. He generally plays on the left wing and is a clinical finisher, certainly an improvement on Matt Jarvis that is for sure. West Ham may have to face a choice over which winger they want however because it is likely that Besiktas won’t want to sell both of their star wingers. Either one would be an improvement on what we have now though.
Dejan Lovren
The out of form Liverpool centre back has been reported as one of Slaven Bilic’s main targets. Dejan Lovren has a history with Bilic as he first called Lovren up to the Croatian national team in 2009. Bilic would like to link up with the centre back again however there are many doubts over this transfer should it happen. Firstly Lovren has endured a torrid debut season at Liverpool, being out of form for most of the season. It wouldn’t be a good idea to sign him for this reason but also because centre back is nowhere near a priority for West Ham this summer. If he could rise to the form of his season with Southampton then maybe he would be a good addition to the side.
Alen Halilović
The final target who has been consistently mentioned in rumour mills recently is Alen Halilović. The young Croatian winger/attacking midfielder, heralded the new Messi, plays for Barcelona B and we have been linked with a loan move for him. This deal could work well following Alex Song’s successful loan spell at Upton Park. You can also look at the success of Gerard Deulofeu’s loan at Everton two seasons ago as an example of how Halilović could be successful. It would be useful to have an extra squad player for Europe nevertheless and the loan would be quite cheap
