As West Ham wait for the Declan Rice deal to be concluded with Arsenal, the east Londoners continue to work hard on new signings ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.
David Moyes will need to spend any money wisely given that the Hammers have a Europa League campaign to undertake as well as domestic commitments.
The worst thing that the Scot can do at this point is reinvest the Rice money on players that are not suitable.
In the past few seasons, all of Sebastien Haller, Gianluca Scamacca and Danny Ings haven’t really worked out, and with prices rising for players all the time, there may not be any bargains to be had – particularly as every other club will know that West Ham are in the money and may place a premium on their players with that in mind.
Deals are going to be difficult, and as Fabrizio Romano writes in his exclusive CaughtOffside Substack, two players that were targets are now unlikely to pitch up at the London Stadium.
‘AC Milan are in talks with Valencia to sign their 20-year-old American midfielder, Yunus Musah, and they are prepared to offer around €17m to open concrete conversations. The player is also keen on Serie A move after previously being linked with West Ham,’ he wrote.
‘Although Borussia Dortmund have pulled out of the race to sign Edson Álvarez, a player that West Ham appreciate, he is also very expensive. For sure it will be a difficult deal but the final decision will be made after selling Declan Rice.’
In the case of Musah, if the player is set on playing elsewhere then it’s senseless pursuing a deal, and can Moyes really afford to put most of his eggs in one basket in the case of Alvarez, a player untried in the English top-flight?
It’s a delicate balancing act and one that the club has to get right.