Nuno Espirito Santo has sent a clear warning to the West Ham board after talks ahead of the January transfer window.
- Hammers News exclusive
The Hammers boss has laid out exactly what he expects — and made it clear he won’t settle for excuses.
Nuno Espirito Santo has seriously impressed West Ham fans so far.
The Portuguese has been a breath of fresh air since replacing the meek and hapless Graham Potter.
Nuno is the polar opposite to Potter and it has sparked a positive reaction from West Ham’s players and fans.
Not only is the former Wolves and Forest boss inspiring in his interviews and press conferences compared to dull Potter, his impact has also been noticeable in the two performances so far.
Nuno’s refreshing no-nonsense approach to West Ham board
West Ham were much-improved in a 1-1 draw at Everton they could and should have won.
The Hammers were also much more resilient at Arsenal, despite the Gunners cruising to a relatively comfortable 2-0 win.
Many made excuses for Potter based on what was going on above him.
West Ham’s board are massively under fire amid fan activism to force them out.
But part of the problem was that ‘yes man’ Potter lacked the gumption to take the owners on and hold them to account.
It seems Nuno is already making a big difference there too.
West Ham are about to embark on a crucial run of games for their Premier League survival hopes.
The Irons are in the bottom two of the table after seven games – a fifth of the season.
The Hammers now have three home games out of the next four matches before the November international break.
Three of the four matches are against teams many believe West Ham will be in a season-long survival battle against.
It is Brentford up first on Monday night before a trip to Leeds United and then back-to-back home games against Newcastle and Burnley.
Nuno warns West Ham owners over January window expectations
West Ham really need to be picking up at least seven or eight points from the 12 available if they are to start moving away from danger.
The Hammers need to get to the January transfer window well positioned to kick on in the second half of the campaign.
The new head coach will have his chance to make signings in order to achieve that.
Now Nuno has warned the West Ham board over his January window expectations.
The Hammers have already been linked with a host of players for the winter window, which opens in two-and-a-half months.
Winger Adama Traore and a number of strikers from Joshua Zirkzee to Chris Wood and even Real Madrid’s Endrick have been linked.
Super agent Jorge Mendes will have a key role in West Ham’s transfer business.
There are several exciting Mendes clients the Hammers could sign.
West Ham have made it clear Nuno will be able to make signings should he deem it necessary.
Now football correspondent Graeme Bailey has revealed Nuno’s no-nonsense attitude towards the owners over exactly what is needed at the London Stadium in the January window.
The 51-year-old is clearly in no mood to mess around.
Nuno has told David Sullivan and co that West Ham simply must sign a new striker after assessing his squad over the last few weeks since arriving at the London Stadium.
Hammers boss tells Sullivan and co he must have a new striker
Although loans with obligation might be as good as it gets for Nuno unless more players are moved on.
No-nonsense Nuno has also warned that failure to give him what he needs could result in relegation given the strength of the newly-promoted teams this year.
Bailey has also confirmed Mendes will be heavily involved – although not exclusively.
And he has one particular striker in mind, whose name is being kept under wraps for now, after making it clear he does not believe Callum Wilson is up to it in the Premier League anymore.
“Nuno has assessed the squad in detail since taking over and he does feel there is an issue up front,” Bailey exclusively told Hammers News.
“He wants a striker who is ‘athletic’ and can move the opposition defence, but the current options don’t offer that.
“He has a few issues, but that is the main one. One thing is that they might be relying on loans, or deals that have obligations. Am told there is not lots of money, they might need to sell to buy.
“Nuno has warned the club that they need to do something in January, this is a tough season coming – the three promoted sides are different level to last year.”
It is no surprise Nuno has highlighted a new striker as a priority.
It was bordering on negligible that West Ham did not sign a pacy, powerful young forward as a priority in the summer.
That is already coming back to bite them with Niclas Fullkrug suffering yet another injury that is expected to keep him out for several weeks at least.
Not that the German was making much of an impact after putting in two awful performances in Nuno’s opening two matches.
