Matt Le Tissier: These are the two positions where West Ham are really weak
West Ham need to sign a central midfielder and a prolific striker in the January window to help them stave off the Premier League drop this season.
That is according to Premier League legend Matt Le Tissier, who has exclusively told Football Insider that he feels the Hammers are weak in the middle of the park and lacking up-front amid their poor start to the campaign.
West Ham were beaten 2-1 by Leeds last Friday (24 October) as they remained in the Premier League relegation zone.
Nuno Espirito Santo was appointed as Hammers boss this time last month after Graham Potter’s sacking, but he has been unable to turn their fortunes around as yet.
They currently sit 19th in the top-flight with just four points from their opening nine league games, with four points separating them and 17th-placed Fulham right now.
West Ham need more signings in January
The Hammers allowed numerous first-team stars to leave over the summer as Potter tried to overhaul their squad to better equip them for his tactical set-up.
Mateus Fernandes was West Ham’s most expensive arrival as he joined from Southampton for £38million, but they also allowed Mohammed Kudus and numerous stalwarts like Vladimir Coufal, Michail Antonio and Aaron Cresswell to move on.
They have looked fragile and lacking in the leadership department, as a result, while they have scored the joint-second-least amount of goals in the top-flight this season so far, with seven strikes.
Nuno has been unable to settle on a favoured midfield combination as yet, with the likes of Fernandes, Tomas Soucek, Andy Irving, Lucas Paqueta and Soungoutou Magassa all being handed starts in his first four games in charge.
West Ham told to improve central midfield and striker options by Le Tissier
Nuno chose to start Paqueta as a false nine against Leeds last time out with Callum Wilson and Niclas Fullkrug both currently misfiring.
Football Insider revealed on 21 October that the West Ham board plan to back Nuno in January as he prioritises new signings at centre-forward, central midfield and centre-back.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, former England and Southampton striker Le Tissier insisted that the Hammers need to particularly focus on the two of those targeted areas in particular when asked what they need to sign in the January window.
He said: “I feel like they’re pretty weak in the centre of midfield. You know, when I watch their games, I don’t see anybody really dominating or taking control of that area of the park, especially in a home game.
“So I think that’s obviously a concern. And, you know, the perennial problem at West Ham has always been having a centre-forward that can try and get you 15 or 20 goals a season.“