West Ham face the two biggest must-win games of their season as they take on Wolves and Nottingham Forest in the next five days and Nuno Espirito Santo could get a surprise boost.
The January transfer window officially opens on Friday and West Ham must pull some rabbits out of the hat to stay in the Premier League.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side need a minor miracle to survive, going from winning just three games in the first half of the season to at least seven or eight in the 19 games left.
The next two against Wolves and Nuno’s old side Nottingham Forest are arguably the most important, though.
One of West Ham’s measly three victories came with a 3-0 triumph at Forest, the last game before Nuno was sacked after his falling out with owner Evangelos Marinakis.
West Ham could get major early AFCON return boost for Forest
After losing to Fulham and throwing away the lead twice against Brighton, the Hammers simply must take six points from Wolves and Forest.
Even captain Jarrod Bowen has said nothing else will do ahead of the two games.
Pablo looks set to be West Ham’s first signing of January…💪
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The current situation has come to a fork in the road.
Win both and West Ham could find themselves above Forest and out of the relegation zone by Tuesday night.
The alternative does not bear thinking about.
Nuno will need every one of West Ham’s few quality players available to him for as many of the remaining games as possible if he is to have any chance of keeping them up.
The Hammers have been sorely lacking in pace, energy and athleticism for much of the season.
The loss of El Hadji Malick Diouf and Aaron Wan-Bissaka to AFCON has not helped in that regard.
Diouf and Wan-Bissaka bring so much pace to the side as the club’s first choice full-backs.
Back in November, West Ham’s board admitted concerns over losing Diouf and Wan-Bissaka – especially as it came when the team faced its most winnable run of fixtures all season.
Those fears have proved well-founded as the duo are sorely missed.
Diouf could be back for Forest and Wan-Bissaka not far behind
At worst Diouf and Wan-Bissaka could be missing for as many as six weeks in total.
But West Ham could get a major early AFCON return boost for the Nottingham Forest clash.
Adama Traore has a dismal minutes-to-goal record in the Premier League 😲
West Ham are sleepwalking towards relegation with this transfer…
Ollie Scarles had a torrid time in the second half of West Ham’s damaging 1-0 defeat to Fulham.
The Academy graduate was guilty of a howler as his hashed clearance handed Fulham the win on a plate late on.
Scarles had a much-improved game against Brighton but while Diouf has been far from perfect defensively, he offers a lot more going forward – particularly from crosses.
With West Ham on the verge of signing new striker Pablo, who is known for his aerial prowess, that link-up could be key to the club’s survival hopes.
There’s a chance Diouf and Wan-Bissaka could be away for as many as six weeks in total.
Especially with both Senegal and DR Congo being amongst the favourites to win the competition.
The two countries were both in Group D and qualified with ease for the last 16.
Diouf played his first minutes at AFCON in Senegal’s 3-0 win over Benin.
The 20-year-old summer arrival played the full 90 minutes at the Grand Stade de Tanger in Morocco, where goals from Abdoulaye Seck, Habib Diallo and Cherif Ndiaye saw Senegal to a comfortable victory.
Timely Hammers boosts would be just what Nuno needs
It means Senegal will face either Burkina Faso or Sudan in Tangier on Saturday.
While they will be clear favourites, an upset in that game would mean Diouf could be back in east London by Monday ahead of the crucial home clash against Nottingham Forest.
That would give Nuno a huge shot in the arm at the perfect time, even if it would be a shame on a personal level for the player.
Wan-Bissaka could follow close behind, with a much higher probability of returning home next week too.
DR Congo face one of the favourites Algeria in the round of 16 on Tuesday when the Hammers play Forest.
Defeat would see Wan-Bissaka back for the FA Cup game against QPR and trip to bitter rivals Spurs the week after.
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