HITC Sport looks at three players who West Ham United should sell next month.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that West Ham United boss David Moyes is going to buy and sell players in the January transfer window.
Hell, the Scot, who replaced Slaven Bilic last month, has admitted that he intends on signing players in a revelation which delighted the West Ham faithful.
But Moyes will most likely offload a few players too and here, HITC Sport looks at who those faces should be.
Diafra Sakho
Negotiations over Diafra Sakho’s summer exit had to be put on hold on deadline day in August because the Senegal striker was at Chelmsford to watch his agent’s horse in the 3.20. Fast forward four months and 27-year-old’s race is run at West Ham. It has to be. Sakho is a good striker who probably should have started at least one Premier League game this season (all 14 of his appearances have been from the bench) but the bottom line is that he tried to leave the Irons in August and will most likely try again when the winter window opens.
The Hammers have shown huge improvement under Moyes but they could still be battling relegation for much of the second half of the season and does the Scottish manager really want players only half committed to the cause? Of course not. Sakho will be the subject of interest in January and the Londoners should cut him loose.
James Collins
The Welsh stalwart reminded West Ham fans of his talents in the 3-0 win at Stoke City earlier this month, but there are far bigger tests ahead for the 34-year-old defender and it remains to be seen if he is up to the task. James Collins has missed three months of the season through injury already and although he is adored by supporters, the Irons’ situation too precarious to allow for sentiment to creep in.
As mentioned above, half-hearted players won’t benefit them in a relegation dogfight, but neither will aging centre-backs and Moyes must sell Collins – who will walk on a free in the summer unless a contract is offered – if he thinks the Wales international is passed his best. Nobody can doubt Collins’s commitment but commitment on its own won’t see West Ham win their relegation battle.
Andre Ayew
With nine goals in 40 Premier League games for West Ham, Andre Ayew, who scored in Saturday’s defeat by Newcastle, has not justified the £20.5 million pricetag which he arrived with in East London 18 months ago. The 28-year-old is by no means a bad footballer, and that’s exactly why Moyes should offer him out.
Ayew has done enough in the Premier League and Ligue 1 down the years to retain some clout on the continent and there are sides who will pay good money for him. The Irons probably won’t recoup their money, but they will get a big chunk of it and Moyes should be given that to reinvest in a better attacker.
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