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With big spending expected this summer from West Ham United, who realistically should we be looking to bring in? Does the squad require a major overhaul - or does our first season back in the big time show we have a solid squad which simply requires minor tweaking?

Goalkeepers

A successful season for Jussi Jaaskelainen surely means he will keep the number 1 - or 22! - jersey that he has earned to see out the last year of his contract. Adrian is on board too, with also Stephen Henderson and Raphael Spiegal also in the ranks.


Defence

Flop Emanuel Pogatetz won't have earned himself a deal but the capture of Razvan Rat from Shaktar Donetsk has brought in cover for the left back slot. We also have a number of young prospects coming through for cover; Dan Potts, 21, and Jordan Spence, 23, in particular will be looking for more of a role in the first team in upcoming years.

Guy Demel and Joey O’Brien - who was this week voted runner-up Most Improved Player of 2012/13 by KUMB readers - at full back worked well in the Championship and has worked sufficiently in some Premier League fixtures, but I strongly believe these are not long-term team players in the position.

With Demel aging and both O’Brien and George McCartney with a history of injuries, I don’t believe they are the kind of players that we need to move forward to the next level. Danny Simpson, formerly of Newcastle United could be on the cards as another free agent (following apparent interest in January and last summer). Could James Tomkins reinvent himself as a full back after playing second fiddle to the solid duo of Winston Reid and James Collins in the centre of defence?


Midfield

Alou Diarra seems certain to leave the club and with Gary O’Neil’s having apparently followed suit, it would seem necessary to add some back up to the midfield. I don’t think we seen enough of Diarra before he was shipped out on loan - and I also think Gary O’Neil should be offered a new deal. I can’t see that we would be paying him a lot and he had a fantastic run of form towards the end of the season. He filled in perfectly for the absent Mark Noble and also scored a fantastic goal against West Brom, arguably our goal of the season.

Matt Taylor seems past his best now but will be kept for reinforcement. Kevin Nolan - being the club captain and Big Sam’s lovechild - seems certain to keep his place too. Mo Diame’s future seems uncertain due to the contract situation but every Hammer knows he will be an important player to keep. Do we need to strengthen our midfield further? YES.

Bringing in another flair player like Diame would do us the world of good. Players with a creative touch are hard to find; sometimes we have played without him and looked lost as nobody in our team has the same defensive/attacking capabilities that Mo does. Perhaps looking to tie up his contract long-term would be our most important deal of the summer. Our midfield and defence has been a strong highlight of the season and if it isn’t broke, do we need to fix it?

Wingers/Forwards

Joe Cole, Ricardo Vaz Te and Matt Jarvis have shared the wide men roles this season, mainly in the latter half of the campaign. Vaz-Te can have off days and occasionally resembles "the spoilt schoolboy who thinks he is better than everyone else" but he has played an important part in the squad since joining in January 2012 and deserves his place based on some of his performances.

His 87th minute, winning goal in the 2012 Play-Off Final was one of our finest moments of the last 10 years and if we hadn't signed him a few months earlier, I would have to wonder whether we would have got promoted or not!?


Joe Cole has also provided some good performances since joining but needs a good pre-season to get fit for the new campaign. Matt Jarvis’s pace and ability to get the ball in the box on a consistent basis surely means he will keep his place. I’m sure if Andy Carroll signs they will link up so much more next season in terms of goal attempts and chances.

Young Rob Hall and Ravel Morrison could also supply sufficient cover for these positions. They both need runs in the first team to develop to Premier League standard. Both enjoyed successful Championship loan spells with Birmingham last season, something highlighted by Morrision winning an impressive 13 Man of the Match awards (at all levels) during his spell at St Andrew's.

In terms of forwards, club 'legend' Carlton Cole has moved on as expected; Modibo Maiga is likely to follow, which brings personal disappointment as I believe he deserves more of a chance in the first team. Marouane Chamakh and Wellington Paulista have returned to their respective parent clubs with no further action to be taken from us.

Speculation linking West Ham with Wilfred Bony raises concerns and the inevitable comparison with Alfonso Alves who also made the switch from Eredivisie to Premier League when signing for Middlesbrough - who paid £12million for a handful of goals. Bony has proven himself in the Dutch League, but the Premier League is a complete different prospect and would therefore appear to be a risky move.

Many would prefer Carroll - despite the fact that he doesn’t scored a shed-load of goals. Surely there will be more to come; he set up a number of goals last season and his aerial presence is world class. For the same money, Carroll would be the safer option - plus he is still only 24 and has a long career ahead of him.

Rumours linking us with ex-Hammer Demba Ba and Chelsea's Romelu Lukaku as loan prospects have also arisen recently, but I wouldn’t expect too much to come from either of those.



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