It was a transfer window of huge ambition and significant spending at West Ham, with eight players signed and David Moyes backed to the tune of more than £170million, all without the sale of a single key player (Issa Diop’s departure to Fulham is the only outgoing that commanded a fee).
Gianluca Scamacca could be the centre-forward the Hammers have been crying out for, Nayef Aguerd and Thilo Kehrer should strengthen a backline ravaged by injury last term, and Lucas Paqueta’s club-record arrival looks a genuine statement of intent. Emerson, Maxwel Cornet and Alphonse Areola provide depth with Premier League experience, while Flynn Downes is considered one for the future.
There have been frustrations along the way - a slow start to the window that means Moyes’ squad is only now taking shape, the drawn-out Jesse Lingard saga, Amadou Onana’s wage demands and Aguerd’s pre-season injury - and being ultra-picky, perhaps the Irons still look one body short in central midfield.
Even so, it has been a landmark window for the club, though one not quite worthy of an A-grade at this stage because we have not yet had the chance to see the impact of Moyes’ marquee additions (compared to, say, the mark Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko have already made at Arsenal).
Verdict: B
Ins
Lucas Paqueta (Lyon, £51m)
Gianluca Scamacca (Sassuolo, £30.5m)
Nayef Aguerd (Rennes, £28m)
Maxwel Cornet (Burnley, £17.5m)
Emerson Palmieri (Chelsea, £15m)
Flynn Downes (Swansea, £12m)
Thilo Kehrer (PSG, £10.1m)
Alphonse Areola (PSG, £8m)
Outs
Issa Diop (Fulham, £15m)
Andriy Yarmolenko (Al-Ain, free)
Ryan Fredericks (Bournemouth, free)
Nikola Vlasic (Torino, loan)
Arthur Masuaku (BeÅiktaÅ, loan)
Nathan Trott (Vejle BK, loan)
David Martin (Released)
Mark Noble (Retired)
