West Ham have played it safe over the last two transfer windows and it hasn’t worked – it’s time to stop before they pay the price of relegation.
West Brom, Stoke City, Swansea, and Southampton have all struggled this season, and all can be accused of resting on their laurels these past few years.
West Ham are also in that bracket. Although the club has escaped relegation this season, you can see where the Hammers have gone wrong from simply glancing at their transfer dealings over the past couple of years.
Andre Ayew, Robert Snodgrass, and Jose Fonte represented the major outlay of 2016 – with all three no longer playing for West Ham. £36m was spent on Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez last summer, despite not knowing how to best utilise the former for months, and the latter already facing the exit door.
Pablo Zabaleta and Patrice Evra were brought in as full-backs, with it all smacking of putting faith in ‘Premier League proven’ players, rather than individuals who fit and will play as a unit.
Arnautovic has, of course, come good, but one out of seven is a terrible record. Maybe it’s time to trust the manager to make signings.
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