Former West Ham star turned broadcaster, Joe Cole, has been blown away by one recent addition at his previous employers.
The Hammers have begun the 2023/24 Premier League season as they ended the last, with an expected loss to Man City the only real blot on their copybook.
David Moyes has made his team hard to beat again, and that’s as much due to his new signings as anything else.
Each player; Edson Alvarez, James Ward-Prowse, Mohammed Kudus and Konstantinos Mavropanos, offers something different and something that the east Londoners needed.
For once, the club were able to identify their preferred targets, go after them and land them, and the results are there for all to see.
Coming after losing arguably their best player in former captain, Declan Rice, makes their form all the more impressive.
Cole is certainly full of praise for Mexican international, Alvarez, who has taken up Rice’s position in defensive midfield. No mean feat when you consider how popular Rice was before moving to Arsenal.
“[James] Ward-Prowse has taken the plaudits because of his ability and what he’s done, he’s been brilliant, outstanding. But don’t underestimate Alvarez,” he said on TNT Sports (h/t West Ham Zone).
“He’s absolutely perfect… not a replacement for Declan because that would be a tall order. But he can do what Declan did for the club.”
If Moyes can steer his side through the next couple of months relatively unscathed and they still find themselves being in a position to challenge at both home and abroad, adding a couple more new faces in January could really see the Hammers kick on in the second half of the campaign.