Despite having only just won the Europa Conference League, if West Ham want to continue to improve then they need to be at the front of the queue for certain players this summer.
The best teams improve when they’re at the top so that they stay there and then build upon that success, rather than waiting for things to fall apart before they realise that the squad needs strengthening.
Having gained access to next season’s Europa League, David Moyes’ side have a genuine chance to really push on again from this point, so it’s imperative that they get their transfer business right.
One player that they’ve previously been linked with, though to this point nothing appears have progressed, is Southampton’s creative midfielder and dead-ball specialist, James Ward-Prowse.
After the Saints were relegated to the Championship, there were always going to be one or two of their players that would be sold, whether for financial benefit for the club or purely because the player’s themselves saw their futures elsewhere.
Journalist, Paul Brown, is desperate to see Ward-Prowse pitch up at the London Stadium.
“I certainly think that, of all the people they’re looking at this summer, Ward-Prowse is the one that I would really love to see at West Ham,” he said to Give Me Sport.
“I think he’d be absolutely perfect for them and it makes a lot of sense to bring him in. The sooner they can get that done, the better.”
It isn’t clear what price Southampton will have in mind for their player, and arguably the Hammers will need to wait until Declan Rice is sold before conducting their major business, but at this stage it is a deal that could still be done if all parties are agreeable.