West Ham United must get their act together or they could risk losing star name Javier Hernandez in January.
The Hammers have made a poor start to the new Premier League campaign with just two wins from seven leaving them in the bottom six.
Slaven Bilic – in the last year of his contract – is a man under pressure and the likes of Carlo Ancelotti, Thomas Tuchel, Rafa Benitez and Roberto Mancini have been linked as possible replacements.
Indeed speculation was rife that were it not for Diafra Sakho’s last minute winner against Swansea last time out Bilic may well have found himself out of a job heading into the international break.
But the Hammers need to be careful because their turbulent start to the season is just one of a number factors which could see them risk losing star name and firm fans’ favourite Javier Hernandez in January.
The Mexican star was a real coup for the East Londoners in the summer and was expected to help propel West Ham into European contention.
It has not quite worked out that way so far, though.
Here’s three reasons why West Ham could risk losing Chicharito in January.
West Ham United’s star striker Javier Hernandez and Slaven Bilic
The Bilic problem
Somewhat bizarrely Bilic came out and publicly admitted fitting Hernandez and Andy Carroll into the same team was ‘almost impossible’.
That went down like a lead balloon with Hammers fans who were left wondering why Bilic signed him in the first place if he did not have a plan to build his team around the fifth best striker in Premier League history in terms of goals to minutes ratio.
Chicharito has therefore been shunted out in a wide left position and finds himself working as a winger – doing plenty of defending too – despite all but one of his Premier League goals coming from inside the box.
Add to that the fact Bilic continues to substitute Hernandez each week – much to the striker’s frustration – and it does not bode well. All the while the striker’s proud goalscoring record is taking a big hit, as is his ego.
Solution: Bilic must find a way to build the team around Hernandez and use Carroll from the bench if needed. The gameplan with Chicharito playing through the middle against Spurs recently worked well but was brought to an abrupt halt by Michail Anotnio’s injury after just 20 minutes. Either that or the West Ham board must act and replace the manager and find someone who can get the best out of the current squad and players like Hernandez.
Not cup-tied for European football
A big risk factor for West Ham this January is European football and the fact Hernandez is not cup-tied.
Mexico’s all-time record goalscorer is a proven top quality operator and having spent most of his career playing in the Champions League he is accustomed to that level of football.
Some big clubs, be it in the Champions League or Europa League, may be in need of a striker come January and there won’t be many quality players who are not cup-tied for Europe like Hernandez.
The likes of Chelsea and even Arsenal and Spurs on these shores and a host of others like Bayern Munich, Monaco and Sevilla would all benefit massively from having Hernandez around.
Solution: This will depend on how desperate some of the big European hitters are in January and how much they are willing to pay. At 29 Hernandez still has some years left in him at the top level and given the current market West Ham could easily double their money on him. Whether they would dare or be tempted to remains to be seen.
West Ham’s ambition
When Hernandez agreed to join West Ham in the summer they had signed Pablo Zabaleta and Joe Hart (on loan) and also added Marko Arnautovic to their ranks.
But the club did not push on and failed to add anymore quality players to their side in what is an increasingly competitive Premier League.
Like Dimitri Payet before him Hernandez could well find himself questioning the ambition of the club, particularly given the fact he is being played out of position and not finishing matches.
Payet ended up forcing a move away later stating he felt the club had ‘regressed’ and lacked ambition.
While there is no suggestion Hernandez would act as unprofessionally as Payet, an attractive offer from elsewhere could prove tempting particularly if West Ham continue to struggle at the wrong end of the table under Bilic.
Solution: West Ham must either back the manager and spend in January or sack the manager and spend in January. Either way they must try and do some business to bolster the squad and prove to the likes of Hernandez they are a club with ambition. January is not the best time to do business but West Ham’s squad lacks quality in depth and they desperately needed a holding midfielder in the summer but failed in their very public pursuit of William Carvalho.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
