West Ham January transfer briefing: who are they after, what do they need and who might leave?
Share:
West Ham splashed £120million on seven new players last summer, and yet five months later they already need reinforcements. Injuries, age, a betting probe and a car crash have held back the squad already this term, to the point it is a bit of a surprise to see them flying as high as 13th - a point and a place above Manchester United, and level with Tottenham.
![[Any transfers may need to be put on hold with Julen Lopetegui under so much pressure]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/27/11/93515687-14229695-image-a-13_1735298877985.jpg)
Of this season’s recruits, £15m buy Aaron Wan-Bissaka has probably shone the brightest, while Max Kilman has impressed but also has a £40m price tag to live up to. But any transfer dealings may need to be put on hold with manager Julen Lopetegui under so much pressure, as any new head coach would likely want to have their say.
![[West Ham need a number of positions but a striker should be their top priority in January]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/27/11/93515707-14229695-image-a-15_1735299080708.jpg)
So what can West Ham fans expect this January? Here, as part of our transfer briefing series looking at Premier League clubs ahead of the transfer window, our West Ham expert James Sharpe answers the five key questions at the London Stadium. West Ham splashed £120million in summer but find themselves needing reinforcements.
![[The club's all-time top goalscorer, Michail Antonio, suffered a horror car crash this month]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/27/11/93515715-14229695-image-a-14_1735299078996.jpg)
Any transfers may need to be put on hold with Julen Lopetegui under so much pressure. What don’t they need?! Their first-choice keeper Lukasz Fabianski is nearly 40, they have a playmaker in Lucas Paqueta who could face a substantial ban for match-fixing in a few months, three of their four full backs are in their 30s and their main striker remains in hospital after a car crash that will likely see him ruled out for a year, and could well end his career.
![[They have also considered Brazil striker Yuri Alberto - who has 15 goals in 29 games this year]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/27/11/93515757-14229695-image-a-16_1735299161757.jpg)
West Ham would like another central midfielder, a couple of full backs and a winger but their priority is a top striker. Not just because of Michail Antonio’s horror crash, but with £27m summer signing Niclas Fullkrug still to set the world alight and suffering with injury and Danny Ings being past his prime but, as someone close to the West Ham transfer dealings told Mail Sport, top strikers ‘are not easy to find’.
![[Brighton forward Evan Ferguson, who has fallen down the pecking order, has also been linked]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/27/11/93515759-14229695-image-a-17_1735299186976.jpg)
