Graham Potter wants to rebuild the West Ham squad this season, and signing player from the Championship could be way forward.
Before the end of the season, West Ham were being linked to a whole host of Championship players; Jobe Bellingham, Chris Rigg Dan Neil and Maxime Esteve were just a few of the names mentioned on The West Ham Way.
However, the Sunderland and Burnley were promoted and are now a Premier League side, making it a lot more difficult to sign these players. Borussia Dortmund were forced to pay £32m for Jobe Bellingham, when he probably would’ve cost around £25m if they were still in the Championship.
This means we have to change some of our targets, but if we want to stay in the Championship there are some brilliant options and we know its worked out excellently before. Jarrod Bowen, Michail Antonio and Aaron Cresswell are the standouts and if we can get players like that again we won’t be able to complain.
The standout name for me would be Hayden Hackney, the 22-year-old was one of the standout midfielders in the league, making the Middlesbrough team tick. He managed 5 goals and 3 assists and no player in the Championship was involved in more open-play attacking sequences that ended in a team shot, this is something that would really benefit our midfield because we have lacked creativity.
The Hammers look set to announce the signing of Josh Brownhill on a free transfer, the 29-year-old had an excellent season as Burnley gained automatic promotion, he will bring some much needed leadership and back-up to the squad. One of the best defenders in the Championship last season, CJ Egan-Riley is also available on a free, we are interested, but he looks set to join Strasbourg in France.
Some other names we are reportedly interested in and are still in the Championship are; Sheffield United’s Sydie Peck, Milwall’s Japhet Tanganga and Josh Sargent of Norwich City. These would all be solid signings for West Ham, the English second tier could be the way to go for Kyle Macauley and Graham Potter this summer.
