Tony Cottee believes West Ham United are going about their business in the right way as they aim to build the squad to kick-on once again in 2019/20.
The legendary former Hammers striker has been impressed with the early dealings done by the club this summer, after Spain playmaker Pablo Fornals joined goalkeepers Roberto and David Martin in heading to London Stadium.
Cottee is particularly looking forward to seeing Fornals link up with the other creators in Manuel Pellegrini’s squad, with the manager set to have a rich variety of attacking choices in midfield with the likes of Manuel Lanzini, Felipe Anderson, Jack Wilshere and Andriy Yarmolenko to choose from.
Following on from a positive end to the last campaign, which saw the Hammers push into the top half of the table, Cottee is sure there is much more to come over the next year.
“Credit to the club, they’re trying to do things the right way,” he said. “We’ve brought in three players already and I don’t think we need loads and loads.
“We’re not far away from getting our squad in a position [where we need to be]. We probably need another forward in my opinion, so hopefully we’ll get that done.
“Let’s get the players in, get them ready for pre-season in Switzerland and China – get to know your teammates and get them all ready and geared up for that first game.”
Fornals arrived a week ago as the club’s second highest-ever signing and gave the Hammers fans a glimpse of what he is all about with goals for Spain U21 in their European Championship victories against Belgium and Poland this week.
Cottee added: “Most importantly on Fornals, he’s a young player who has been playing at a high level in Spain and he’s an attacking midfielder, so I’m looking forward to seeing how he slots in.
“We’ve got some outstanding midfield players and we’ve got some outstanding wide players as well, so the manager will have plenty of options.
“Hopefully it’s going to be a really good signing for the club, and again we’re not buying players for £4m now, we’re buying players for £24m and that shows you where the club are. We’re a top ten club – we finished tenth last year and we’ve got to build on that. We’ve got to push on.”