West Ham’s debut campaign at the London Stadium this season has certainly been disappointing, as the Hammers have occupied a lowly position in the Premier League and are still yet to mathematically secure their safety from relegation.
The campaign in East London has been plagued by difficulties, ranging from struggling to settle at their new home, losing a wealth of players to injury and, of course, the untimely departure of star-man Dimitri Payet during the January window.
It leaves West Ham with a huge task on their hand this summer and Sky Sports understands the club will consider Slaven Bilic’s future at the end of the season, which admittedly is a good thing for the Hammers moving forward.
After enjoying a memorable campaign during the last season at the Boelyn Ground, Bilic has struggled to build on that success this season and the club’s transfer recruitment has been very poor. From top to bottom, changes are necessary this summer and moving on from Bilic may be the only course of action.
Whilst the Croatian boss could still turn things around, he will always be associated with the questionable recruitment in recent seasons and it won’t take too much next season to get the fans on his back again, which is always dangerous- especially in the early months of the campaign.
With a new boss coming in, West Ham can take a major step forward and sweeping changes across the board could be more effective. We’ve seen across the Premier League this season that changes at the right time can produce wonders, with Hull City and Leicester City experiencing that, so there’s plenty to look forward to.
Fans may be concerned as to what sort of replacement for Bilic they could draft in but a change in face can have a tremendous boost on the squad, whilst bringing in a capable manager could allow the Hammers to enjoy a more competitive campaign next term.
West Ham also face the risk of losing key-players, as the likes of Michail Antonio continue to attract interest, and evidence suggests that Bilic isn’t the man who can shake the team up positively and the fact his contract is approaching the final 12 months doesn’t help his standing.
The names being mentioned as possible replacements include Newcastle United’s Rafael Benitez, who is unlikely to leave following the club’s promotion, Fulham boss Slavisla Jokanovic and former Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini.
Of those, Mancini would certainly be the stand-out appointment due to his experience of the Premier League and impressive transfer record, as he brought the likes of Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure and David Silva to the Etihad Stadium.
Whilst Mancini wouldn’t have the same financial pulling power that he did in the North West, West Ham’s project is exciting enough to attract top players and the lure of playing under Mancini would also be huge.