West Ham United are enduring a torrid season and will have to make do without three key players for nearly a month in January.
West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic
The Hammers are one point and one place above the relegation zone after a woeful record of seven defeats from their opening 12 games this season.
The latest came at White Hart Lane on Saturday as they threw away a 2-1 lead with just minutes left to lose 3-2 to bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
West Ham have the second worst defensive record in the Premier League with only Hull conceding more.
Slaven Bilic’s side are struggling at the other end too highlighted by the fact not one of the club’s strikers has scored a single goal this season 18 competitive games in.
West Ham United’s Aaron Cresswell after the club’s latest defeat, 3-2 to rivals Spurs
The Hammers also hold the unwelcome record of squandering the most points in the league, giving away eight from winning positions so far – a haul which would now see them sitting joint sixth in the table instead of 17th.
Bilic’s side have a hellish fixture list with a double header against Manchester United at Old Trafford in the next 10 days in the league and cup followed by a home game against Arsenal and a trip to face Liverpool at Anfield.
But if fans think it is bad now things could get even worse come January when the East Londoners look set to lose key trio Cheikhou Kouyate, Diafra Sakho and Andre Ayew to the African Cup Of Nations.
West Ham United’s Andre Ayew and Cheikhou Kouyate will be a huge miss
Kouyate is the captain of Senegal, Ayew is the captain of Ghana and after a long absence Sakho would more than likely be selected for his country for the tournament in Gabon.
The 2017 AFCON runs from January 14th to February 5th which could rule the three players out of games against Crystal Palace, Middlesbrough, Manchester City and Southampton.
Diafra Sakho
Sakho and Ayew have only just returned to action so to lose them so soon seems almost unfair on Bilic.
The former Croatia boss will be desperately hoping he has Andy Carroll back and firing by then.
Depending on West Ham’s position in the league around that time they might deem it even more essential to dip into the January transfer market to bolster Bilic’s options.
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