West Ham have come along nicely under the guidance of Manuel Pellegrini but there is still room for improvement and further work on the squad could be completed during the January transfer window.
The Hammers splashed over £100m to bolster their ranks ahead of the season after Pellegrini’s arrival but their two midfield additions, Jack Wilshere and Carlos Sanchez, have both struggled to make an impact due to injury issues.
It seems that Pellegrini could look to resolve that problem with a swoop in January for Newcastle United midfielder Jonjo Shelvey, a long-term target of the Hammers, with The Evening Standard stating a move will be pursued if Pedro Obiang is offloaded.
Newcastle will be determined not to sell the 26-year-old but would find it difficult to reject a significant bid for his services as Rafael Benitez desperately needs funds to bolster his own squad in the battle to avoid relegation.
However, fans on social media are split on whether Shelvey would be a good addition and we have gathered some of their comments below.
I’d much rather we spent that money on a proper battling physical, motor in midfield!
Maybe we’ll do that with money we make off Oxford, but it seems like we’d be better off getting Billing in with maybe Diawara if possible!— Serial Steve (@SerialSteve) January 14, 2019
Good business
— ⚒️Sir Anyoldiron CBE⚒️ (@Anyoldiron2) January 14, 2019
Very odd decision IMO. Rice ball winner, Shelvey DLP means Noble bench under the new 4-2-3-1 Nasri in the #10?
— Eden Wizard (@WizardEden) January 14, 2019
I’d rather not but shelvey is better than obiang. Plus having 3 West Ham fans in the team is pretty decent. Noble, wilshere & shelvey.
— Benjamin (@benjamin2018x) January 14, 2019
From Diawara to Shelvey…
— Guille (@guille_armero) January 14, 2019
Sideways step. Look elsewhere.
— Eastcoast Oldskool (@eastcoastjay99) January 14, 2019
Obiang is better than Shelvey imo
— James (@Terran__Warrior) January 14, 2019
Previous article by Josh Challies
‘Pray that didn’t mean anything’: These West Ham fans react to potential departure of key asset