Even the most rose-tinted of West Ham United supporters would have struggled to believe, as they slumped to within one point of the relegation zone following a 2-0 defeat to arch rivals Tottenham Hotspur in June 2020, that they would be greeted by a headline just 17 months later.
‘Should David Moyes’ side now be considered genuine title contenders?’, read the article on the official BBC website.
Moyes might have played down any chances of West Ham ‘doing a Leicester’. But, in the aftermath of a stirring 3-2 victory over Liverpool at a rousing London Stadium, the manager did admit that he was setting his sights high.
“I want to be really positive all the time. I would like to say (winning the league) is what we can do but I don’t see that at the moment,” Moyes said.
“We missed out on Champions League football by two points (last season) – so why can we not be there? We are not getting carried away but it is feeling good at the moment.”
Who will replace Kurt Zouma at West Ham?
Four weeks later, West Ham have slipped away from the top of the table but they are, as it stands, sitting pretty in the Champions League places.
Another 3-2 triumph over a top-flight giant – this time it was Chelsea flattened by David Moyes’ steamroller – was exactly what the doctor ordered after a couple of disappointing performances against Brighton and Wolves.
But that latest eye-catching victory came at a cost.
With Angelo Ogbonna set to miss the rest of the season with an ACL rupture, West Ham have now been forced to bid a sad farewell to their next-best centre-half.
Kurt Zouma was a colossus against his old employers on Saturday; putting in one of those ‘if you throw a brick at him, he’ll head the so-and-so back’ sort of performances.
A hamstring injury that saw him hauled off with 20 minutes to go, however, threatens to keep the summer signing out of action for up to three months.
But every cloud has a silver lining, as they say, and the upcoming January transfer window offers the ideal opportunity to fill the void.
According to The Sun, West Ham are planning a cut-price £7 million bid for long-term transfer target James Tarkowski.
With his contract expiring next summer, Burnley have a decision to make. The sort of decision that haunts your dreams and keeps you up at night.
Do they sell one of their star players in the midst of a relegation battle? Or lose Tarkowski on a free in seven months’ time?
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