After losing 4-0 to Manchester United, West Ham need to complete a deal for Sporting Lisbon’s William Carvalho.
West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic admitted he “expected much better” from his team after watching them lose 4-0 at Manchester United during their Premier League opener.
A Romelu Lukaku brace and late goals from Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial completed a rout for the Red Devils in a game that the Hammers were second best in every department.
Romelu Lukaku of Manchester United celebrates scoring his side’s first goal during the Premier League match against West Ham United.
“We knew they had a strong side of course, but I expected us to do much better,” Bilic was quoted by the Evening Standard.
“We started okay but then it was missing, we were much slower than them.
“It’s very hard to find any positives now when you lose 4-0.”
New signings Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez showed glimpses of what they are capable of in attack, while although defensively the visitors were poor the midfield gave them very little support.
Admittedly, Bilic’s side are unlikely to come up against as strong an opponent most weeks, but captain Mark Noble, Pedro Obiang and Edimilson Fernandes came out of the match with little credit.
Sporting midfielder William Carvalho.
It shows how imperative it is for the East Londoners to complete a move for Sporting Lisbon’s William Carvalho, with the Mirror reporting a £36m deal for the 25-year-old is close.
Carvalho is defensively minded and if Bilic is going to continue to pursue a 4-3-3 system then the Portugal international will provide the screening in front of the backline that would make 4-0 defeats less common.
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