David Sullivan must be careful at West Ham as Nuno transfer trap begins to emerge
David Sullivan will have to be careful with his transfer plans at West Ham, as recent weeks have been slightly concerning surrounding Nuno Espirito Santo.
The Hammers’ winter window has provided the Irons with a boost, as Taty Castellanos has provided an added spark to the front line.
Pablo has been unfortunate to pick up an injury; meanwhile, Axel Disasi has had a tremendous impact so far at the London Stadium in defence.
Nuno was also handed the opportunity to work with Adama Traore once more, with the two crossing paths at Wolves between 2018 and 2021.
However, the arrival of the Spaniard must be the exception for Sullivan and not the rule going forward, with the Hammers targeting quite a few former Nuno players.
How many former Nuno players are West Ham looking at?
Traore was signed in the winter window, so he is one of the former players Nuno is already working with at West Ham.
However, over the last week, West Ham have been linked with Raul Jimenez. The Mexican striker played under the current Irons boss at Wolves, similarly to Traore.
He had his best Premier League seasons while at Molineux, scoring 65 times under Nuno.
Additionally, the Hammers are also looking into one of Nuno’s former Nottingham Forest stars, as West Ham are reportedly targeting Ibrahima Sangare.
Overall, on paper, it does paint a picture as if Nuno is having quite a say over which players should be brought in, and that could be a dangerous precedent in terms of bringing in former colleagues.
- Read more: Everything we know about Nuno Espirito Santo’s contract situation as West Ham upturn continues
Why West Ham must avoid that transfer trap
There can be a danger that Nuno is looking to sign players that he is comfortable working with, rather than those that would actually be great signings for the Hammers.
At Nottingham Forest, reports stated that the Portuguese caused an argument over the Tricky Trees’ refusal to hand him the signing of Traore.
Now, he is working with the Spanish winger once more at West Ham. It is early days, but Traore has not shown many signs that he can have a high impact this season
Sullivan must be careful not to fall into the same trap and allow the 52-year-old to have that much influence.
Signing players that will keep a manager happy, rather than actually scouting those who can improve the team, may be a dangerous path to go down.
Graham Potter already went down this road last season, when he brought in Evan Ferguson, whom he worked with at Brighton.
It cannot be allowed to continue here.
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