West Ham are enjoying another solid season under David Moyes, a manager who deserves credit but rarely seems to get it.
The Scot has worked wonders for the East Londoners, giving them their major first trophy of any description in 43 years, and consistently getting them into Europe.
Though Tim Steidten has had a hand in transfer business of late, it’s Moyes that would surely get the final say and, on that basis, you have to doff your cap in his direction once more.
All of the club’s recent signings have dovetailed nicely into the squad, and that says much about the manager’s ability to get them working together as a unit.
There are still players that are surplus to requirements, however, with one current star on the end of a vicious tirade from a West Ham legend.
“Listen, I like (Pablo) Fornals but he knows he’s not getting in the team right now,” Frank McAvennie said to West Ham Zone.
“It even looks as if he doesn’t want to play at the club any more, he can’t be bothered is the message I’m getting from recent performances.
“He’s been great in recent years where he’s performed admirably and worked his socks off, you know, on the European Cup journey he was brilliant, but he’s looked a shadow of the player we saw then.
“I honestly think he could go before the deadline very easily, West Ham have to let him go I feel.”
McAvennie has never been short of a strong opinion or two on his former club, and with Fornals almost entirely out of the picture in terms of playing time – WhoScored note he’s played just 891 minutes in all competitions in 2023/24 – a move away makes sense.
The associated cost saving on wages could even give the Hammers a late transfer window boost and might allow them to bring in another player before the deadline.