West Ham United boss David Moyes recently discussed his summer transfer plans.
West Ham owner sends directive to get Moyes a player recommended by Brazil
And his comments suggest he will move for reported targets Youssef En-Nesyri and Tammy Abraham over the likes of Ivan Toney and Adam Armstrong.
Moyes has made no secret of his plans to build a new look West Ham around young, talented and perhaps lesser known players hungry to prove themselves on the big stage.
So far the recruitment strategy has worked wonders for West Ham. The likes of Jarrod Bowen, Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal have been revelations.
Moyes recruitment policy working wonders for West Ham so far but biggest gamble Benrahma flatters to deceive
But Said Benrahma – a big £30 million gamble from the Championship – has flattered to deceive with Moyes so far refusing to give the playmaker a run in the side.
Instead West Ham went out and signed proven quality in the shape of Jesse Lingard in January.
And he has helped keep West Ham’s push for Champions League football alive.
Speaking in his last press conference, Moyes suggested he may need to go for higher level and more proven players in the summer rather than gambling on lower league stars or rough diamonds.
But the Scot says West Ham must strike a balance between that and overpaid, big names looking for one last pay day.
Lingard shows proven quality is also key as Moyes admits he now has to aim for ‘higher level’ players
“All clubs look around the leagues for players which will be appropriate but I think the higher you go you really do try and bring in players who will improve on what you have got and make a difference and make you better and that becomes harder the higher you are,” Moyes said in his last press conference.
“When I came into West Ham we needed to bring in players so thankfully we got a couple of players that worked but you need a bit of luck with that as well.
“But as you improve you are always looking at a higher-level quality of player, but I am always looking at building teams, and quite often you’re looking for hungry players who want to improve or have a point to prove and try to still climb the ladder.
“I don’t want people who are at the top of the ladder wanting top money and just here for maybe a short period, I would rather have people who are trying to improve.
“Even those types of players sometimes you build them up and then sell them on but I do think that is part of being a manager at a football club as well you have to consider the business side of things as well as the playing side.”
Comments from Hammers boss would suggest moves for En-Nesyri and Abraham are most likely this summer
West Ham have been consistently linked with a number of strikers this summer.
Two of those are Brentford’s Toney and Blackburn’s Armstrong.
But Moyes’s comments would suggest he will not be taking any gambles with whatever money he does have in the next window.
And of his consistently linked targets that means West Ham are more likely to try and sign proven quality like Sevilla star En-Nesyri and Chelsea outcast Abraham.
Celtic’s Odsonne Edouard and Slavia Prague’s Abdallah Sima would be somewhere in between given the inferior nature of their domestic competitions to the Premier League.
But both have proven themselves by scoring goals in Europe.
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