West Ham United will hope it does not come to this, of course, but former boss Harry Redknapp knows from experience what a difference one inspired mid-season signing can make to a club battling against relegation.
Ahead of the January transfer window, it appears that the Hammers are already putting plans in place for a couple of potentially season-saving additions.
Hammers News have been informed that Nuno Espirito Santo could reunite with Chris Wood presuming Nottingham Forest are willing to green-light a deal. Adama Traore, another of Nuno’s old favourites, is another name on West Ham United’s wishlist.
Joshua Zirkzee, Vitor Roque and even Gabriel Jesus have been mentioned in the media, while Spanish publication Sport now claim that West Ham have approached Real Madrid to enquire about a loan deal for Brazilian wonderkid Endrick.
Of course, with two-and-a-half months remaining before the turn of the year, Nuno still has plenty of time to lift his new employers up the table and away from the relegation zone before January even arrives.
Should West Ham continue to limp along in the bottom three, though, Nuno may need an Andres D’Alessandro of his very own.
The Portsmouth cult hero remembered fondly at Fratton Park for aiding Harry Redknapp in the ‘Great Escape’ of 2006.
Harry Redknapp explains why West Ham United didn’t sign Portsmouth icon Andres D’Alessandro
Speaking to Mick McCarthy and Tony Pulis on The Managers podcast, Redknapp recalls the loan signing of D’Alessandro in January 2006 as the moment when Portsmouth’s remarkable revival really started to take shape.
Inspired by the diminutive playmaker, Pompey would go on to win six of their final ten matches to finish one place and four points above the relegation zone.
Redknapp also recalls the time a 25-cap Argentina international had a brief trial period in East London. However, with a baby-faced Joe Cole rising rapidly through the ranks, chairman Terry Brown put his foot down.
“I took a little genius from Argentina called D’Alessandro,” Redknapp says. “I had him at West Ham for a week.
“The Chairman wouldn’t buy him because we had Joe coming through, but I end up getting him on loan [at Portsmouth].
“He came in and off we went. We went on a run in the last 10 games and we stayed up.”
Best remembered in England for a stunning finish against Charlton Athletic, D’Allessandro burned bright but brief at Fratton Park.
The finances involved meant Portsmouth – who would tumble out of the top-flight after falling into administration a few years later – could not afford a permanent deal. D’Alessandro would spend much of next 15 years or so back home in Argentina before hanging up his boots in 2022.
Yet, while he is often mentioned when talking about potentially great players who never quite lived up to expectations, phrases like ‘streets won’t forget’ or ‘cult hero’ are made for the likes of Andres D’Alessandro in the deep blue home shirt of Redknapp’s Pompey.
“He’s the player who most resembles me, the only one that I enjoy watching,” the legendary Diego Maradona once said around the turn of the century, half-a-decade before D’Alessandro lit up the south coast.
“Are Rivaldo and [Juan Sebastian] Veron the world’s best players? Well, the player who stands out for me is D’Alessandro. He’s something else.”
Ian Bishop recalls watching ‘superb’ Joe Cole in Hammers training
As for a certain Joe Cole, Redknapp would have to admit that long-serving chairman Terry Brown was right to put his faith in the club’s feted academy, even if that did cost him the chance to bring D’Alessandro to Upton Park.
Cult hero Ian Bishop recalls watching Joe Cole dance around even the most established West Ham defenders while barely out of primary school age. Well, before Julian Dicks brought a brutal halt to proceedings anyway.
“One time Harry brought Joe Cole [to train with the first-team],” Bishop remembers. “He had been talking about this little kid and how good he was. He was 12 or 13.
“[Redknapp] brought him into training, and Julian smashed him up in the air! Well, if he’s training with us Harry, it’s your fault!
“[Even at that age, Cole was] superb. He tore David Unsworth left, right and centre. ‘Unsy’ couldn’t stay with him. [Cole] left him on his backside a few times.”
