West Ham supporters were in high spirits in the Transfer Tavern on Monday night after finally seeing their side secure a Premier League victory.
The Hammers lost each of their first three league matches to increase the pressure on manager Slaven Bilic, but his team responded in their opening home game of the season to overcome Huddersfield Town 2-0 at the London Stadium.
And this gave many West Ham fans reasons to celebrate in the Tavern on Monday evening, and will thus surely increase the confidence around the squad ahead of Saturday’s trip to West Brom, where they will seek back-to-back league wins for the first time since January.
However, there is sure to be an element of frustration among those Hammers supporters at the bar, as reports earlier this week suggested that the East London outfit missed out on a deal to land Borussia Dortmund forward Andre Schurrle on deadline day.
The former Chelsea man has found things tricky at the Bundesliga outfit since moving there last year, making just 26 appearances for the club in the last 12 months, and bagging on just five occasions.
And he almost made a return to the Premier League with West Ham last month, only for no deal to materialise, but here are THREE reasons why the Hammers should reignite their interest in the German international in January…
European and trophy-winning experience
West Ham will be one of those sides who will likely target a cup run over the coming years, in the bid to win a major domestic trophy for the first time since 1980.
And having someone like Schurrle, a World Cup winner with Germany in 2014 and winner of five major titles at club level, in their ranks will significantly aid them in that quest.
The 26-year-old is vastly experienced at international level with 57 caps for his country, 30 of which have come in competitive matches, while he has added an English Premier League title, an English League Cup, two German Cups, and a German Supercup to his CV in the last few years.
Having that sort of trophy-winning experience can only be beneficial for the Hammers if and when they target domestic cup success.
Point to prove in England
Schurrle moved to Chelsea back in 2013 but only lasted 18 months at Stamford Bridge, and would surely want to return to England to prove a point after a frustrating spell with the Blues.
The 26-year-old bagged just 14 goals in 65 games for the West London outfit before Wolfsburg snapped him up in February 2015, with the forward more often than not a substitute in their Premier League or Champions League encounters.
Yet he rediscovered some form for Wolfsburg and, although things haven’t quite worked out at Dortmund, he would surely relish the chance to prove himself again in England having promised so much at Chelsea, and ultimately struggle to deliver.
Quality signing to move to next level
West Ham spent big money over the summer to bring Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez to the London Stadium in a bid to move to the next level.
And a player of the calibre of Schurrle would be another quality addition to aid them in that quest.
The move to the London Stadium was widely seen as the start of a new era for the East London club – a club that moved into their new ground off the back of a sixth place finish in the Premier League, in turn securing European football.
And that has to be the aim again. Arnautovic is a match-winner and Hernandez has excelled at European level before, while the likes of Manuel Lanzini and Andy Carroll also make a huge difference to the side when they play.
Adding Schurrle to that list would seriously strengthen Bilic’s hand in a bid to take West Ham to the next level, a level befitting of the new stadium.
