It’s amazing what a cup win can do for a football club, and with West Ham now in next season’s Europa League, they’ve immediately become a more attractive proposition.
No neutral fans can have failed to be impressed by the Hammers run to the Europa Conference League title, including that epic last-minute final win over a decent Fiorentina side.
David Moyes has had his critics in the past, but landing the trophy to give the east Londoners their third successive campaign in Europe surely places him amongst West Ham’s greatest ever managers.
It may even have elevated him above the likes of John Lyall and Ron Greenwood in the eyes of many.
In any event, with the ECL celebrations over it’s back down to business, and a vast improvement on West Ham’s domestic form in 2022/23 is needed.
One player who enjoyed a stellar campaign individually despite his team being relegated was Leicester City’s Harvey Barnes.
According to BBC Sport, Barnes was the top scorer in the side with 13 goals. The 25-year-old also provided three assists, numbers that would certainly benefit a team such as West Ham.
At this stage, according to The Telegraph, the Hammers are ahead of any of their rivals in the race to acquire Barnes’ services.
Were they able to get a deal over the line, it would soothe the pain of losing their captain and talisman, Declan Rice.
Barnes thrives on quick breaks and so suits Moyes tactics . Westham , under Moyes will likely continue to play their low possession game . Thus far , Westham have been a team that is less than the sum of its parts . That needs to change so that we arn’t in another relegation tussle .