West Ham’s disastrous campaign has plunged the club into a desperate relegation battle, with Nuno Espírito Santo’s side languishing in 18th after 16 matches, having managed just three wins all season.
The crushing 3-0 defeat at Man City on Saturday extended their winless run to six matches and underlined the scale of the problems facing Nuno, as the Hammers prepare to spend Christmas firmly entrenched in the bottom three.
The statistics paint a grim picture of West Ham’s struggles throughout the campaign, with the club having scored just 19 goals in the top flight this season.
They’ve also showed alarming defensive fragility that has seen them concede 35 times already, a record bettered only by bottom side Wolves.
Saturday’s loss at the Etihad represented their tenth Premier League defeat of what has become an increasingly desperate season, leaving little margin for error as the January transfer window approaches.
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Nuno arrived at the London Stadium charged with arresting the slide that had begun under his predecessor, and while there have been marginal improvements, the fundamental issues around creativity and goalscoring remain painfully unresolved.
The impending departure of Niclas Füllkrug to AC Milan on loan will further deplete already limited attacking options, with the German striker having failed spectacularly to make any meaningful impact since his arrival 18 months ago and now on the verge of joining AC Milan.
West Ham have also turned their attention to defensive reinforcements as they attempt to plug the gaps in a squad that appears woefully ill-equipped at the back.
Both Malick Diouf and Aaron Wan-Bissaka have headed to AFCON, leaving Nuno desperately short of full-back options, and that means they could turn their attention to FC Utrecht left-back Souffian El Karouani.
El Karouani makes West Ham transfer admission
El Karouani has enjoyed a remarkable campaign for Utrecht this season, contributing three goals and an astonishing 15 assists from just 29 matches across all competitions – form that has attracted significant interest from clubs across Europe, including the Irons.
The Morocco international, who was a surprise omission from their AFCON squad, is in the final year of his contract at the Stadion Galgenwaard, making him an affordable market opportunity for West Ham.
The ‘assist king’, as he’s been called, has now made a very interesting admission to RTV Utretcht this week — who report that the 25-year-old is on ‘his way to West Ham’.
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RTV also asked El Karouani about his links to the London Stadium, and the defender admits that a transfer ‘could happen’.
The comments come after Utrecht’s 2-1 league defeat to PSV Eindhoven over the weekend, and when asked directly about his future plans for January, the full-back made it clear that a move could materialise quickly.
El Karouani stated that while he hasn’t said goodbye to teammates yet, the situation is active, and he is waiting to see what develops over the coming weeks.
The addition of El Karouani would provide immediate depth and quality in an area where West Ham have struggled for consistency throughout the campaign, with his attacking output from full-back potentially offering a new dimension to a side that has lacked creativity from wide areas.
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