West Ham past their peak as Martin Allen hits out at what he has seen
West Ham United are past their peak with their new summer signings not “up to it”, Martin Allen has said.
Allen posted on X (22 December) following the Irons’ 1-1 draw with Brighton on 21 December, saying that while it takes more than one window to rebuild a squad, their summer signings haven’t delivered so far following recent European success.
Tim Steidten brought in nine first-team players over the summer at an outlay of close to £130million, yet Julen Lopetegui’s new-look side sits 14th in the Premier League table having won just five matches.
Allen said: “That West Ham team that we loved had peaked. Players needed to be moved on.
“Fresh new players in. That transition takes a bit of time – add homegrown young players to that new squad too.
“It takes longer than one summer to get it right – however, (the) players bought in aren’t up to it.”
Tim Steidten has made several expensive mistakes at West Ham
While not directly named in Allen’s tirade, the buck stops with Steidten when it comes to assessing the Hammers’ transfer business this summer, with plenty of criticism already coming the German’s way.
Steidten could point to the likes of Max Kilman and Crysencio Summerville as players who have proven to be somewhat successful so far, but you’d hope so given the transfer fees spent on them.
Kilman cost the Irons £40m from Wolves and it took a further £25m to sign Summerville from Leeds United, but Steidten and the Hammers’ undoing has been with other costly errors in the market.
Shelling out £27m on the injury-hit Niclas Fullkrug, who was dismal against Brighton, as an alternative to Jhon Duran looks more and more foolish with every single goal the Aston Villa striker slams home.
With two draws and a win in their last three games, Lopetegui’s side are currently on the longest unbeaten streak in the Spaniard’s tenure, but that’s a far cry from where the Irons were not too long ago.
In other West Ham news, one out-of-work manager has been advised to wait for the London Stadium job to become vacant again.
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