da marjack bet： West Ham have finally appointed a new manager to take them into the 2015/16 season – and whilst the high profile likes of Unai Emery, Rafa Benitez and even Jurgen Klopp have seemingly turned down the role in rather obvious fashion recently – Slaven Bilic nonetheless represents an ambitiously fresh move from the Hammers hierarchy.
da pixbet： He might not be tried and tested across the best leagues in Europe, his emerging status as a manager may see him arrive as a somewhat unknown entity among some Premier League fans, but as the former Croatian national team boss knows what it’s all about to play for West Ham and feel connected with the Upton Park faithful – the new man in the dug-out will likely fare a great deal easier than Big Sam in the east end.
With the 2015/16 campaign fast approaching however, and the Hammers being enlisted into the early Europa League qualifiers for next season, David Sullivan and co. have a huge task on their hands this summer in sourcing some adequate new faces to improve the overall squad depth at West Ham.
Soon to be free agent and former Marseille hit-man, Andre-Pierre Gignac, has subsequently been heavily linked with a move to Slaven Bilic’s new outfit in the Premier League, and as the striker commands a fairly decent reputation in French football, such a prospect would surely delight most of the West Ham fans.
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Having said that though, football transfers can be a tricky business even at the best of times – so although Gignac certainly represents a promising outlet for any new team looking to pick up his services this summer – is the big French centre-forward actually needed at Upton Park ahead of the 2015/16 season?
With Andre-Pierre Gignac successfully recording over 20 league goals this campaign, it could well be argued that the Hammers would be mad to turn down such an impressive proposition. On his day, the powerful front-man not only proves capable of destroying certain defences in the air with his lofty stature, but he can also work surprisingly well with his feet and help his teammates link up effectively with one another in the final third.
The 29-year-old Frenchman – who has in-fact represented his national side on occasion – also has a certain prowess in the volley department, as well as in tight situations in and around the opposition’s penalty box.
As his manager this season, the eccentric Argentinean coach Marcelo Bielsa, was also heavily linked to the Hammers job this summer, it seemed Gignac’s potentially impending move to Upton Park was all but on the cards until Slaven Bilic was finally announced as the preferred choice. The striker is nonetheless still supposedly desired by the West Ham chairmen, who have reportedly cast their eye over the player’s talents throughout the past few seasons.
Even with all that in mind though, it still remains doubtful as to whether or not the Hammers actually require someone like Andre-Pierre Gignac going into the new season. For a centre-forward as physical and header-friendly as the one in question, it seems that this particular transfer could seemingly have had Sam Allardyce’s name written all over it.
West Ham played some of their best football last season with Diafra Sakho and Enner Valencia in a two man strike partnership. When Big Sam reverted to playing his classic 4-5-1 formation towards the tail-end of the campaign, Allardyce’s side inevitably stopped performing and fell by the wayside, leaving strong question marks hanging over future formation decisions going into 2015/16.
Andre-Pierre Gignac would likely be used as a solitary centre-forward in this country – but as the player himself could certainly do the business with a recognised strike partner up top – there is actually no reason to suggest that West Ham couldn’t tweak traditional trends in their forward line next term. 2015/16 is going to be an interesting season for the Hammers after all, and some risks will inevitably have to be taken if Slaven Bilic’s new side are to prove successful.
With Andy Carroll’s recent injury record seemingly speaking for itself, and the advent of Europa League football requiring a vastly extended squad size – Gignac’s potential move to Upton Park this summer should ultimately be welcomed by the Hammers faithful if it eventually takes place.
As the 29-year-old represents a good deal as a free agent, and because Bilic will need a whole manner of new faces to contend with as the 2015/16 season begins, the high scoring Marseille striker could prove fairly successful in the Premier League with all things considered – even if he admittedly comes across as an ‘Allardyce type’ player on first impressions.
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