Three In, Three Out at West Ham this January

If feels like only yesterday the summer transfer window slammed shut, yet we’re now under three weeks away from the official opening of it’s winter counterpart.

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce used a rather modest summer budget of just £30million to completely transform his club’s fortunes, propelling them into the Premier League’s top four this season compared to a 13th place finish last term.

It remains to be seen if the Upton Park manager plans on putting the January window to similar use, but the Hammers’ new-found European contenders status will open new avenues to them in the transfer market, whilst there’s plenty of deadwood that needs to be axed throughout the West Ham ranks too.

With that in mind, here’s a list of the Three most likely departures from West Ham this winter, combined with their Three most likely replacements.

OUT – RAVEL MORRISON



According to reports this week, West Ham have officially given up on their mission to unlock the full potential of prodigious midfielder Ravel Morrison:

West Ham looking to sell Ravel Morrison for just a fraction of his £18m release clause http://t.co/1M1Rrfk8K2 — MailOnline Sport (@MailSport) December 15, 2014

The 21 year-old’s talent is undoubted, having sporadically demonstrated it at both Championship and Premier League level. Take this incredible solo goal against Tottenham last season for example:

…or a run of six goals in 15 appearances on loan at QPR last season, propelling Harry Redknapp’s side to play-off promotion glory.

Unfortunately however, the off-field issues that ended the England U21’s Manchester United career are catching up with him once again.

In January, he’ll go on trial for assaulting his ex-girlfriend, and that, combined with his loan spell at Cardiff City being cut short after just seven Championship appearances, appears to have nullified the Hammers’ faith in the midfielder turning his struggling career around.

Viable suitors will largely depend upon the outcome of the court case, but Redknapp might be prepared to give Morrison another chance at Loftus Road after his performances last year.

IN – JAVI FUEGO



Reports over the weekend, originally sourced from Spanish publication Marca, claimed the Hammers have put Valencia midfielder Javi Fuego firmly in their transfer crosshairs:

Javi Fuego on West Ham radar as Sam Allardyce eyes £4m January swoop for Valencia midfielder http://t.co/kU8FmknWbF — West Ham News (@WestHamMail) December 10, 2014

And, rather interestingly, they’ve since been backed up by Sky Sports Spanish Football super-correspondent Guillem Balague, who tends to be on the money when it comes to La Liga transfers:

On Javi Fuego, linked to West Ham. Player one of the worst paid ones at club. WH interest real. But Valencia has told him he's not for sale — Guillem Balague (@GuillemBalague) December 15, 2014

There’s certainly more eye-catching performers at the Mestalla but the 30 year-old defensive midfielder does the simple things well and has established a key role in the Valencia first team since leaving Rayo Vallecano two seasons ago, as detailed below:

Having featured in every minute of Los Che’s La Liga campaign thus far, as Balague speculates, manager Nuno Santo won’t be best pleased if Fuego is offloaded in January.

But the former Spain U23 is about to enter the final 18 months of his contract and Valencia are believed to be eying a deal for Argentine World Cup star Enzo Perez, which would undoubtedly increase West Ham’s chances of signing Fuego.

Here’s a clip of the former Levante and Recreativo star in action:

OUT-WINSTON REID



Certainly not a departure by West Ham’s own design, but if the East London club are approached with a decent offer for contract rebel Winston Reid in January, they’ll have little option but to sell.

The combative centre-back has made enormous progress since first turning up at Upton Park in 2010 following a string of impressive World Cup performances for New Zealand.

He was a vital factor in West Ham’s 2011/12 promotion campaign from the Championship and a year later won the Hammer of the Year award. The 26 year-old has since gone on to convince many that he’s one of the Premier League’s better centre-backs outside of the top six.

So with Reid’s contract entering its final six months and David Sullivan revealing the defender’s desire for European football, he’s been linked with several top English clubs ahead of the January window:

Arsenal, Liverpool, Man Utd circle West Ham for Reid – West Ham United defender Winston Reid is a target for the P… http://t.co/wGpu0ANFfW — World Cup Fiver (@WorldCupFiver) October 7, 2014

Sam Allardyce has claimed the All Whites skipper will be going nowhere unless one of his suitors coughs up an eye-watering £20million, but that’s likely a final effort to drive up Reid’s potential price-tag as much as possible.

IN – NICOLAS N’KOULOU



It’s believed Sam Allardyce’s priority replacement for Winston Reid is Marseille star Nicolas N’Koulou:

West Ham monitoring Marseille defender Nicolas N'Koulou as Sam Allardyce prepares to lose Winston Reid http://t.co/GiaNWgjMKU — West Ham News (@WestHamMail) December 8, 2014

The Cameroon international boasts strength and power in abundance and has become a near-permanence in the L’OM starting line-up since joining them from Monaco in 2011, going on to register 119 Ligue 1 appearances.

The 24 year-old’s potential has attracted some major names before, including Arsenal, Liverpool, Sevilla and Atletico Madrid, and his resurgence in form this season, as detailed below, appears to have particularly caught the Irons’ attention:

With just 18 months left on the 5 foot 11 centre-half’s contract, January represents the right time to buy from West Ham’s perspective but convincing him to quit Marseille could prove more problematic – the Stade Velodrome outfit are currently topping Ligue 1:

OUT – MATTHEW JARVIS



Injuries have certainly been a factor but Matt Jarvis has seen just 113 minutes’ worth of action in the Premier League this season, suggesting his West Ham career could soon be coming to an end.

In truth, the one-time England international has never replicated the form of his eight-goal 2011/12 campaign at Wolves, as shown in the video below, or come close to justifying his £11million transfer fee.

Here’s the winger’s stats from the last few campaigns:

The 28 year-old recently informed reporters of his determination to return to the West Ham starting line-up, but other reports claim he could be offloaded to West Brom for around £5million when the transfer window opens:

IN – YEVHEN KONOPLYANKA



The Hammers’ ill-fated £9.5million bid for Dnipro winger Yevhen Konoplyanka fell on deaf ears during the summer, but the East London club find better luck in the New Year when that the Ukrainian international’s contract enters it’s final six months.

The 25 year-old, who boasts 32 goals and plenty of assists in 149 league outings for Dnipro, first burst onto the scene with this absolute stunner against England at Wembley back in 2012:

He’s since gone on to win two Ukrainian Premier League Footballer of the Year awards, leading many to rate Konoplyanka as one of the most Europe’s talented outside of its five leading top flights.

For West Ham to land the playmaking winger would be a major coup, with some even speculating a transfer fee as miserly as £5million, but revived interest from long-term admirers Tottenham could be an issue: