West Ham manager David Moyes celebrates two years in charge at the London Stadium next month, having transformed the club from relegation strugglers to top-four contenders
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David Moyes has confirmed he’ll dip into the January transfer market to beef up his West Ham squad.
The Hammers boss celebrates two years in charge next month, having transformed the club from relegation strugglers to top-four contenders.
He is now expected to move in January for Manchester United forward Jesse Lingard and Burnley centre-back James Tarkowski with the Irons still in Europe and competing for a place in the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
Moyes said: “You have to buy the right players. Of course, we want to strengthen and keep improving to challenge the teams at the top.”
The Scot insisted he would maintain his careful approach to recruitment to ensure any new signings buy into the hard-working mentality of his current squad.
Which positions do West Ham need to strengthen? Have your say in the comments!
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“If it were as easy as just buying players, we’d all go and do it,” he added. “Here at West Ham, we’ve bought a lot of players in the past, but if you don’t get the right players, it doesn’t always work.”
Despite defeats in their past two games, at Wolves and Manchester City, West Ham still sit fourth in the table ahead of Wednesday night’s game against Brighton.
Moyes believes it is the biggest indicator of the progress the club has made since he returned after seeing his job taken by Manuel Pellegrini.
He added: “We’ve been away to Wolves, Rapid Vienna and Man City, so having three home games now, hopefully we’ll use it to our advantage. The wins and the way we’ve been playing has given us huge belief.
“Our start to the season is right up there with the best. The big thing I’ve got is a really good team – a group of players who are competitive and working on changing the mentality.
“When it comes to 28 December, I’ll have been here two years. The turnaround the players have made in that time has been great, so they deserve huge credit for what they’ve done.
“I’m still trying to build the Club. 18 months at the moment isn’t a long period to be at any club, but the players – and us as a staff – have made decent progress.”
Nonetheless, Moyes is adamant his squad needs a fresh injection of quality and West Ham are ready to target red hot FC Basel marksman Arthur Cabral.
The £15million-rated Swiss striker, 23, has a formidable scoring record over the past two years with 20 goals in 36 appearances last season and 25 goals for his club so far this term.
Main man Michail Antonio remains first choice for the club because of his all-round game. But the 31-year-old has not scored for the Hammers since his winner to sink Spurs on October 24.
Moyes has also been tracking 22-year-old FC Copenhagen frontman Jonas Wind. The 6ft 3in Dane is rated at £11.5million and has scored 11 times for this season after 20 goals for club and country last season.
Backed by new Czech investor Daniel Kretinsky, there is a belief that the east Londoners will add the depth to ensure their promising first half of the season does not fizzle out.
Moyes is expected to move again for Manchester United forward Lingard, who decided against making his successful loan move last season permanent in the summer.
Lingard had scored nine goals and four assists in just 16 Premier League games. His electric form saw him force his way back into the plans of England head coach Gareth Southgate.
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But after opting to stay at Old Trafford over a permanent move to the London Stadium, 28-year-old Lingard has once again found himself a fringe player with the Reds.
Meanwhile, West Ham are also set to move again for Burnley defender Tarkowski in January – with the Clarets prepared to sell for just £7million to prevent him leaving for nothing.
It comes just over a year after the Hammers bid over £30million for the central defender, now 29. The massive offer was the last of a string of bids submitted with Burnley refusing to budge from their £50million valuation.
West Ham held their nerve and instead turned to loan signing Craig Dawson, whose impressive displays helped them into the Champions League. Burnley are now set to be left out of pocket while Moyes could yet pick up a bargain.
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