The West Ham Way wishes a Merry Christmas to everyone who’s supported over the past year. Let’s hope the second half of the season is a better one for us West Ham fans.

As Hammers fans, there is a lot we want for Christmas, the biggest being safety in the Premier League, but at the moment, that’s looking like it will have to be more of a Christmas miracle than a present.

The presents that we’re all hoping for will be late ones; we need a lot from the January transfer window. The players we bring in next month, in my opinion. will make the difference between us staying up and go down.

On our Christmas list this year, we have a striker, a central defender, a winger, and potentially even a central midfielder too, depending on outgoings.

We’ve been given a great early Christmas present with Fullkrug leaving the club, but it’s the ones that follow that will make or break the transfer window.

So far, it looks like David Sullivan, who in this context is playing the role of Santa Claus, make of that what you will, looks as though he is focusing on bringing in a striker.

The early reports seem as though we’re struggling to find someone who wants to join us in a relegation battle or find a club that’s willing to sell their pointman. So, let’s hope some progress is made with that soon.

One deal that looks like it is progressing is Adama Traore, with 6 months left on his contract at Fulham are keen to sell, Adama is keen on the move, and so is Nuno Espirito Santo, who is eager to work with the Spaniard again.

The only thing that may be hard to work out is the fee. Fulham will probably want around £10m for him, but I can’t see Sullivan being too willing to pay over £5m, so maybe we’ll meet in the middle. Let’s hope so anyway, because we need some new legs in as early as possible.

As for central defence, there is a name that, if we decide to pursue a move for a defender, he will be the man. That man is Charlie Cresswell of Toulouse. The Englishman has been excellent in France; Hammers fans have been calling for us to sign him for well over a year now. He is the calm, no-nonsense, and proper defender this team is calling out for.

I think Charlie Cresswell should be top of every West Ham United fan’s Christmas list this year. A defender like him could really change our team. I personally think signing a centre-back with his abilities is more important than signing a striker who is inevitably going to fail in claret and blue.