Last season was a hugely successful one for West Ham United.

Fans here in the Football Transfer Tavern are delighted with the progress that has been made under Slaven Bilic, with their manager guiding his side to a Europa League spot for the upcoming season.

Our landlord thinks the club can do one better though; he thinks this year might be the year that West Ham finally make the jump up and compete for a spot in the top four.

West Ham were in and amongst it up until around Christmas time, but began to drop off as lack of quality depth began to show.

With a few new signings this year, in addition to the experienced gained from their exploits last time out; this really could be the year that West Ham United get Champions League football.

 

Goalkeeper – Adrian 

Starting off with an obvious one.

Spanish keeper Adrian was a rock between the sticks last year, and the very same will be expected of him in the upcoming season.

West Ham need to ensure they keep hold of the 29 year old, who is likely to have a number of suitors in the Premier League.

At 29, Adrian is entering the prime of his career as a keeper; so will only get better in the next few years.

Solid and reliable.

 

Defence – Aaron Cresswell, Winston Reid, Angelo Ogbonna, Sam Byram

More familiarity in defence.

The West Ham back line performed excellently last year, and were one of the main reasons why the club performed so well throughout the season.

One of the most important pieces of business the side can do this summer is hold on to Aaron Cresswell, who has been a target of a number of English clubs.

One of the top left-back’s in England; Cresswell was excellent last year.

The central defensive pairing of Winston Reid and Angelo Ogbonna was excellent last year, and they will be expected to continue their fine partnership and form as West Ham look for Champion’s League football next year.

Sam Byram joined in January of this year and performed well when called upon towards the tail end of the season. Now a fully fledged hammer; next year will be very important for the defender as he looks to cement his place in the side.

 

Midfield – Mark Noble, Cheikhou Kouyate, Dimitri Payet

More of the same in midfield, with this trio forming an excellent understanding and partnership throughout last season.

Mark Noble, the club captain, continues to go under the radar despite his excellent performances, and can feel hard done by not to receive an England call up this summer. There are very few players in the Premier League that can do what he does so consistently; and he will continue to do so in the years to come, anchoring that West Ham Midfield. He leads by example.

Cheikhou Kouyate has had a wonderful few years in England, and has been described as the perfect midfielder. He will only get better in the coming year. 

Dimitri Payet of course received all the plaudits last season, and with good reason. He was simply stunning throughout the entirety of the campaign; and his good form has continued into the European Championships this summer. Playing in his preferred number 10 position allows all the play to go through him, giving West Ham an often unstoppable attacking prowess.

They MUST hold on to Payet if they want to get into the Champion’s League.

Attack – Manuel Lanzini, Christian Benteke, Theo Walcott

The main changes in the side come up front, where you could argue that West Ham struggled most last season, especially without Payet.

Manuel Lanzini had a wonderful debut season in England last year, and he will no doubt get better as time goes on. An excellent signing and will perform expertly on the wing.

West Ham are in desperate need of a striker, and with the money to burn they should definitely look for a big star.

Whilst a number of targets have been linked, we’ve gone with big Christian Benteke, as we feel that he is perfect for this side. Strong, fast, powerful; Benteke is a complete attacker.

His poor form at Liverpool should not be a deal breaker, everyone saw how good he was at Aston Villa; he just needs to feel valued in order to perform – and he would be excellent at West Ham.

Finally, Theo Walcott has been linked with the club constantly throughout the transfer window, and with his Arsenal career looking stagnant; he could very likely be on the move this summer.

West Ham would give him an outlet to perform and get back to his very best; his electric pace terrifies defenders.

This front three would be simply unstoppable.