Insider ExWHUEmployee has revealed that West Ham United will look to target players from the Championship in the upcoming transfer window.
What are the latest West Ham transfer rumours?
Last summer, the Hammers spent big on a number of exciting names from across Europe with the likes of Lucas Paqueta arriving from Lyon, Gianluca Scamacca from Sassuolo, and Nayef Aguerd from Rennes.
However, seeing as the club have regressed this term and now find themselves in a Premier League relegation battle in the final stages of the season, it's fair to say the recruitment wasn't exactly perfect.
With that in mind, regardless of whether or not David Moyes is still manager, it seems as though the board want to sign players already in England to help ease the adaptation period.
Indeed, while speaking on The West Ham Way podcast, Ex revealed his latest understanding of the club's stance.
The insider said (3:35): "We've been looking at players in the Championship.
"Following the signings of most of our players this summer. I think the only two actually from memory that came from a domestic club were [Max] Cornet from Burnley and [Flynn] Downes from Swansea, the rest all came from abroad.
“And obviously, whatever you put the factor down to, they've struggled to settle in England. Whereas previously when Moyes has signed players or the club have signed players – you know, you look at the likes of [Jarrod] Bowen, and Downes, and [Aaron] Cresswell and [Michail] Antonio, and I'm sure there's other examples that I've forgotten – when you look at those signings, they tend to settle better.
"So the club is going to be looking towards the Championship.”
Why do West Ham want to sign Championship players?
Scamacca certainly is a good example of a player who has struggled to adapt to life in the Premier League. For instance, he netted 16 Serie A goals in Italy last term, but has just three in the league so far in England since his £35.5m transfer.
What's more, potentially not convinced by his ability to settle, the club then went out and signed an English alternative in the winter with Danny Ings arriving from Aston Villa.
Next season, if Scamacca is still at the club, he and the likes of Aguerd and Paqueta will at least have a season of British football under their belts.
And so, with them potentially a little more settled, you can see why the board will hope to not disrupt too much and primarily target players who already have their roots in English football having played in the Championship.
It certainly feels as though a lesson has been learnt here.
