We’re now over halfway through the January transfer window, and West Ham Unitedhave still not been able to sign any new players.
With Graham Potter now at the wheel, the Hammers will hope to push their way up the Premier League table, and you’d imagine the new gaffer will be looking to get some fresh faces in to help the club finish the 2024/25 in a strong position.
As things stand, the Irons are lying 14th in the top tier table, with ten points currently separating them from both the relegation zone and the European football qualification spots.
While no new signings have joined the club so far this month, plenty of names have been linked with a move to the London Stadium. Ex-Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech is said to be on West Ham’s radar, along with the likes of Brighton’s Evan Ferguson, and even Manchester United outcast Marcus Rashford.
With the rumours yet to turn into anything concrete, we fired up our dear old friend Football Manager, and asked the management simulator to predict how Potter’s first January transfer window in charge at West Ham would go.
Which players did Football Manager predict West Ham would sign?
In the spirit of fairness, we turned the calendar back to January 1st once installing Potter as manager, giving the ex-Chelsea boss an extra week in which to conduct some business, and boy, did he make the most of it
Hammers fans had barely finished singing Auld Lang Syne when news broke of the Hammers’ first January deal – an audacious loan move for Chelsea winger Noni Madueke. Having been frozen out of the first eleven in favour of Brazilian winger Luiz Enrique, Madueke was up for a change of scene in a bid to impress new England boss Thomas Tuchel.
Clearly unimpressed with his options on the right wing – fair enough, given Jarrod Bowen‘s current injury situation – Potter swooped back in for another player in the same position, bringing in Jacob Murphy from Newcastle United on a £10m deal.
Back in the real world, West Ham have been linked with a move for ex-Manchester United starlet Angel Gomes, and Football Manager fancy the Hammers will get their man this month. Rather than waiting until the summer to sign the Lille player on a free transfer, they instead coughed up £20m to get the deal done immediately, thwarting the Red Devils’ desperate attempts to re-sign their former player. The hastily prepared ‘Angel Gomes: Welcome to Manchester United’ YouTube videos were swiftly deleted.
So far, so good. After a little bit of a lull, the gossip columns began to link West Ham to further signings, with transfer guru Fabrizio Romano going into overdrive. A trademark ‘Here We Go’ was issued, revealing that club had closed in on a £10m move for Boavista striker Robert Bozenik – could he be the man to end the Hammers’ infamous ‘striker curse’? Well, with two goals in eighteen appearances in the Portuguese top flight this season, we’re not entirely convinced.
Who did West Ham sign on Deadline Day?
Loaded up on military grade coffee, laptop batteries supercharged to 100% and the fax machine ready to go again after its biannual servicing, West Ham’s recruitment team did themselves proud, concluding an impressive series of Deadline Day deals.
First up, the Hammers managed to convince Sergio Reguilon that half a season in east London would be significantly more enjoyable than his current role at Spurs – sitting on the bench before occasionally being drafted in to do the same kind of relentless running that has seen half of Ange Postecoglu’s struggling side succumb to hamstring injuries this season.
Next through the door was Italy international Matteo Pessina, who joined on a £15m deal from Serie A side Monza. The former AC Milan starlet was a lovely bit of business, giving Potter a powerful engine to slot straight into his West Ham midfield.
Coffee pots now drained and fax machine starting to smoke and splutter, it appeared that business at E20 was done for the day. Then came the peeping eyes emoji, then came the not-so cryptic ‘don’t go to bed just yet’ post on the club’s socials. The West Ham fan base went into meltdown with excitement – just who could this last gasp signing be?
None other than Paris Saint-Germain defender Beraldo was the mystery man, joining on a half-season-long loan deal from the Ligue 1 giants. The 21-year-old, three-cap Brazil international can play either in the heart of defence or out on the left, and made solid 24 appearances across all competition’s in PSG’s domestic treble winning campaign last season.
So there we have it, Football Manager has had its say on who the Hammers will sign this month. Let’s all just cross our fingers and hope the aforementioned goal-shy Bozenik doesn’t rock up at the London Stadium any time soon.
