Danny Murphy believes West Ham United are paying for a disappointing January transfer window, telling talkSPORT (3 March, 11.50am) that Kalvin Phillips, Raphinha, Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz were never going to sign.
After West Ham were knocked out of the FA Cup by a much-changed Southampton on Wednesday night, Moyes made his feelings very clear to opposite number Ralph Hasenhuttl.
“I spoke with David Moyes after the game,” the Saints boss tells Hampshire Live. “And he told me, ‘This was the difference, you could bring on fresh, good players’.”
Oriol Romeu, Stuart Armstrong, Nathan Redmond, Tino Livramento and eventual matchwinner Armando Broja came on as Southampton stormed into the quarter-finals.
West Ham, meanwhile, made just two subs throughout the 90 minutes. Said Benrahma and Nikola Vlasic the only options Moyes trusted on a bench full of fresh-faced kids and a seldom-seen Alex Kral.
Moyes made just two changes from the side who beat Wolves 1-0 on Sunday – their best performance in some time – with Michail Antonio, Jarrod Bowen, Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice starting yet again.
And Murphy feels that a lack of depth in key areas could be the difference between another good season and a great one.
January regret?
“They should’ve signed a striker,” says the former England international.
“West Ham have still had a good season. They can still be proud of where they’re at. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out the forward areas are where they should’ve strengthened.
“We’ve talked about who they tried to get. Unrealistic targets!”
Moyes admitted over the weekend that West Ham tried to sign Luis Diaz before the Porto talisman joined Liverpool (Sky).
“They might as well have tried to get Messi!” adds an incredulous Murphy. “(Nunez) was playing Champions League!
“They were never getting those two (Raphinha and Phillips). Leeds are in a relegation battle and those are their best assets. If you’re an agent for Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips, you’re not gonna go to West Ham.
“I’m not putting the blame at Moyes’ door. But sometimes it’s a case of, if you can’t quite improve it, you can beef it up with similar quality. If you need bodies in, you can get bodies in who are as good as the players you’ve got.
Do you know how many footballers who are out there, who are hungry, talented and want to be in London and the Premier League?”
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