West Ham want to sign Nottingham Forest playmaker James McAtee and he could be the club’s new Kevin Nolan as he gets the backing of former Hammer Joe Cole.
When West Ham appointed Sam Allardyce after relegation under the hapless Avram Grant in 2011, his first move spoke volumes.
Allardyce made signing Kevin Nolan from Newcastle his top priority.
The move to persuade one of the Premier League’s best goalscoring midfielders – and Newcastle’s captain no less – to drop down to the Championship seemed unrealistic.
McAtee can be West Ham’s new Nolan 14 years on
But Allardyce managed it and Nolan was exactly what West Ham needed as the duo grabbed the club and team by the scruff of the neck to drag them back to the big time.
Nolan went down as one of West Ham’s best captains of the modern era before going on to coach the team under David Moyes.
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Now James McAtee can be West Ham’s new Nolan as he gets the backing of Joe Cole.
While McAtee is a very different player – and not necessarily a natural leader – he could be the Premier League quality player who helps West Ham back to the top flight just like Nolan did 14 years ago.
The similarities are striking.
An English attacking midfielder who probably does have Premier League options but chooses to drop down to the Championship with West Ham to rebuild themselves and reunite with a former manager – Nuno for McAtee and Big Sam for Nolan.
McAtee heads a list of five top West Ham targets according to reports as Nuno Espirito Santo is backed to blow his Championship rivals out of the water.
Former Hammer Cole backs ‘outstanding’ McAtee
The Hammers were heavily linked with McAtee last year but missed out on him to Forest, who were then managed by Nuno.
Things have not worked out for the 23-year-old at the City Ground and reports are gathering pace that West Ham want to make him something of a statement signing this summer.
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If they do, McAtee certainly has the backing of former Hammer Cole.
“I saw him in the 21s, and technically, he’s outstanding,” Cole said, as reported by Nottingham Forest News.
“He’s come to Forest for games, and it’s not quite worked yet, but he’s a really good player with a lot of quality.”
With Crysencio Summerville likely to follow Mateus Fernandes out of the West Ham exit, the team will be sorely lacking guile and creativity.
So a move for McAtee makes perfect sense.
And if West Ham pull it off then it will send a message to the club’s rivals for the Championship title.
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