West Ham United transfer business means strongest XI now is stronger than last season even without Declan Rice
The summer transfer window at West Ham was a lot better than many fans anticipated when the season began with no Declan Rice and no new signings.
The Hammers sold their skipper for £105m to Arsenal and when they lined up to face Bournemouth on the opening day, not only was there no replacement in sight but there had been no additions anywhere else in the squad either.
Fast forward past the deadline though and many fans are delighted by the business the club and David Moyes managed to do, and arguably have made the team even stronger.
The boss made the big decision to switch his number one for this season despite no new goalkeeper signing, with Alphonse Areola claiming the starting spot ahead of veteran Lukasz Fabianski and the team look a lot more steady already.
After spending £116m to bring in four players, you’d be forgiven for thinking they should all walk into the starting lineup for Moyes but that’s likely not the case.
The defence has started the season well and it seems as though Moyes has found the perfect balance with Vladimir Coufal on the right, Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd in the middle and Emerson Palmieri on the left.
That means Dinos Mavropanos will have to settle for a spot on the bench initially and work his way into the team in training.
In midfield though there is a new-found balance with two new signings in the squad to replace the quality of our former captain.
Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse have brought fantastic defensive abilities and on the ball quality that we lacked at times last season, while Lucas Paqueta is being afforded more freedom and greater responsibility going forward.
Jarrod Bowen is still a star on the right and he has started the season fantastically well, continuing to show his importance to the side in Moyes’ system.
Up front Michail Antonio is the main man with Gianluca Scamacca no longer at West Ham and Danny Ings struggling to make an impact in Moyes’ system since signing in January.
But on the left there will likely be a change with the flair and explosiveness of Mohammed Kudus a perfect compliment after his move from Ajax, meaning Said Benrahma may have to step aside despite his good performances.
Whether Moyes agrees that this is the strongest lineup or not remains to be seen, but West Ham look stronger now than last season thanks to the great summer business they did in the final weeks of the window.
In other West Ham news, the Hammers cooled their interest in a long-term target before the window slammed shut.