If the Premier League were to organise an end of year awards ceremony for England’s top-flight, the most improved team award would surely be going to West Ham in 2020.
The Hammers have gone from being relegation candidates to the periphery of challenging for Europe, and that’s at least partly down to how well they’ve recruited.
This time last year, Hammers fans were crying out for a new attacker, with a lot of fans keen to see Marko Arnautovic return to the club in the January transfer window, but luckily, West Ham went in a different direction.
Indeed, The Hammers did opt to bring in a new attacker in the January, but it wasn’t the giant physical presence of Arnautovic that they opted for, instead David Moyes looked towards a fast, tricky winger in the shape of Jarrod Bowen.
It’s fair to say that Bowen has been excellent since arriving at the London Stadium, contributing to six goals in 14 games this season.
However, West Ham still managed to get someone who could bring the same physical threat of Arnautovic through the door in January, but they managed to do that without taking anything away from their new-look attack.
Indeed, despite the fact that Tomas Soucek is a midfield player, he’s been one of the Hammers’ biggest attacking threats over the past 12 months, netting no fewer than six league goals in 27 league appearances, which is a very handy return for a midfielder.
The arrival of Said Benrahma this summer and the emergence of Pablo Fornals as a greater attacking threat, further cements just how much the Hammers’ attack has evolved over the past 12 months.
Nowadays, Arnautovic is a long-forgotten player, and if the Hammers were offered the chance to re-sign the Austrian this January, you’d find it hard to make a case for him being a starter these days.
12 months have made such a difference to West Ham’s attack, and their desperation to re-sign Arnautovic last year now look slightly ridiculous.
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