The return of Demba Ba would be greatly welcomed at West Ham (Picture: Getty Images)

When David Sullivan and David Gold took over West Ham six years ago this week, at their first news conference, Sullivan said: ‘January is not the best time to buy players.’

Interesting from a man who had just bought an entire relegation-threatened squad.

Fast forward to 2016, however, and the Good Ship Irons has not just been steered away from the rocks, but it is making better progress than anyone could have expected.

So Gold and Sullivan were entitled to give themselves a pat on the back this week and also to give fans a bit of a birthday treat as well.


David Sullivan and David Gold have been at the club six years (Picture: Getty Images)

With a deal for Leeds’ Sam Byram finally solving the long-running right back problem, it already looked like being a good window for West Ham.



However, despite the protestations that there was no money for any new signings, there seem to be ever-louder mutterings that a new striker could also be on his way.

On Tuesday night, Sullivan’s son Jack – with the inside track on what goes on at the club and a love of teasing fans with information – may have dropped a big hint.

In his best West Ham XI of the Sullivan/Gold era, up front he chose Demba Ba, who happens to be one of the names being muttered the most loudly.

The Senegalese striker was due to join Stoke in 2011 only for them to pull out because of concerns about his knees.

Demba Ba’s goals could not save Avram Grant’s team from relegation (Picture: Getty Images)

This did not prevent then Irons boss Avram Grant taking a punt on him, one which almost saved West Ham’s season as he ended up top scorer with seven goals in 13 games, impressing enough in a relegation campaign to catch the eye of Newcastle.

After one and a half successful seasons there, Chelsea pounced – but since then, Ba’s career has gone sideways, as he found himself shunted aside before moves to Turkey and, most recently, China.

He was maybe a little impatient earlier in his career, but now older and wiser at 30, the opportunity to return to the Premier League would be a tempting prospect.

Over the last six years, by and large, Sullivan and Gold have got things right.

Grant’s appointment was a definite error, but if Ba’s brief 2011 stint under the Israeli can help persuade the striker to return to West Ham in 2016, maybe it was an excusable mistake after all.

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