West Ham United signed no fewer than 13 players over the summer but Slaven Bilic’s best bit of business has gone completely under the radar.
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic
The Hammers were linked with all and sundry over the last few months as Slaven Bilic looked to reshape his squad following the club’s big move to the 60,000-seater Olympic Stadium.
The former Croatia manager had been building to ensure he had enough depth to compete at home and abroad, but his side were embarrassingly dumped out by Romanian side Astra Giurgiu in the fourth qualifying round of the Europa League.
The East Londoners were actually one of the busiest clubs of the window. Bilic kicked things off by releasing the likes Alex Song, Emmanuel Emenike and Victor Moses from loan deals.
He also sanctioned the £10 million sale of defender James Tomkins to London rivals Crystal Palace.
Simone Zaza is West Ham’s biggest name signing this summer
The Hammers have brought in a total of 13 players as they signed Manuel Lanzini, Havard Nordtveit, Toni Martinez, Domingos Quina, Sofiane Feghouli, Ashley Fletcher, Gokhan Tore (loan), Arthur Masuaku, Jonathan Calleri (loan), Alvaro Arbeloa and broke their transfer record with the £20.5 signing of Andre Ayew from Swansea City. That looks certain to be broken further still when Simeone Zaza, on loan fromantic Juventus, plays the 15 games required to trigger West Ham’s £25m obligation to buy clause.
But it is the somewhat low key capture of Edimilson Fernandes from Swiss side Sion which could well prove to be the best bit of business of the lot.
The tall and imposing 20-year-old has a Brazilian sounding name and the skills to match but is actually Swiss and the cousin of former Manchester City player Gelson Fernandes.
Football fans are too cute nowadays to rely on a YouTube video showcasing the skills of a player.
West Ham United’s new signing Edimilson Fernandes is introduced to the fans
But Fernandes is one player whose clips really do paint an accurate portrait of his outstanding ability.
He was paraded to fans at the London Stadium ahead of their second leg game against Astra and his signing was quickly and disappointingly overshadowed by that humbling defeat.
This is a midfielder who, both in terms of stature and size, could go on to emulate the likes of Paul Pogba and other marauding central midfielders of that ilk.
Of course the Premier League is a world away from the Swiss Super League and it will not be a cake walk for the attacking prodigy.
Fernandes in action for FC Sion
Previously described by the Sion president as ‘unsellable’ because of his worth to the club, Fernandes has a penchant for a shot from outside the box.
He can be seen in the YouTube footage arriving at the right times in the right areas and playing sharp, quick, incisive football, and he clearly gets as much joy from an assist as he does from scoring a goal.
Quite frankly for Hammers fans the prospect of Fernandes linking up with the likes of Dimitri Payet and Manuel Lanzini is a mouthwatering one.
He may be young but Bilic has already said he expects the midfielder to be part of the squad straight away. If talent has anything to do with it, it will not be long until Fernandes is a regular fixture in the starting XI.
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