West Ham United have reached the end of a record-breaking summer transfer window and will now focus 100 per cent of their efforts on enjoying a successful 2013/14 Barclays Premier League season.
Despite the Board and manager deciding to do their business early on in the window to avoid last-minute panic buys - resulting in the successful signings of Andy Caroll, Stewart Downing, Razvan Rat and Adrian - Joint-Chairman David Sullivan and manager Sam Allardyce did spend all night on Monday trying to sign one of three international strikers, but all opted for the lure of European football instead.
Importantly, the Board also turned down bids for several first-team players in the last week of the window as they are determined to give the squad the best chance possible of bettering last season's tenth-placed Premier League finish.
The Club are pleased to announce that popular striker Carlton Cole is also undergoing a medical today with a view to returning to the Boleyn Ground on a short-term deal.
While the two previous summers have seen a necessary overhaul of playing staff, this time around the Board and Big Sam elected to make fewer alterations to a group that performed so well on their return to the Premier League, although the Club's transfer record was broken for the second year in succession.
Summer 2013
England centre forward Carroll was the biggest name in through the Boleyn Ground's famous John Lyall Gates, signing for a club-record fee from Liverpool in June.
The towering striker netted seven goals in 24 appearances while on loan from the Reds last season and is closing in on a comeback after missing the start of the current campaign with a heel injury.
Andy Carroll proudly poses in the new West Ham United adidas kit
after signing from Liverpool
When he pulls on his new No9 shirt again, the 24-year-old will be itching to get on the end of crosses supplied by fellow England international and former Liverpool team-mate Downing.
The No23, who has already made three eye-catching appearances in claret and blue, is a prolific crosser of the ball who has chalked up 70 assists during a successful career with Middlesbrough, Aston Villa and Liverpool.
The 29-year-old has been voted Player of the Year at his previous clubs three times and has appeared in the League Cup final for all three, producing a Man of the Match display as the Reds beat Cardiff City in the final at Wembley in 2012.
Big Sam with Razvan Rat, Adrian and Stewart Downing
Rat is the Romania national team captain, who brings both his vast experience and outstanding talent to east London after a decade with Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk.
The left-back, who speaks fluent English as well as four other languages, won 15 trophies during his time with Shakhtar, while he appeared in the UEFA Champions League on more than 50 occasions.
An attack-minded player, Rat made 300 appearances for the Ukrainian side, and he is expected to pass the 90-cap mark with Romania during Friday's FIFA World Cup qualifier with Hungary.
Spaniard Adrian is a goalkeeper who burst onto the scene at Real Betis Balompie last season, keeping eleven clean sheets in 32 Primera Division matches as the Seville-based club qualified for the UEFA Europa League.
The 26-year-old came through the Betis ranks before waiting patiently for his chance in the club's junior teams. An agile stopper with outstanding distribution, Adrian will keep the pressure on No1 Jussi Jaaskelainen to maintain the outstanding form the Finn showed himself last term.
Finally, Whitehead is a 19-year-old central midfielder who already possesses extensive first-team experience from his time with previous club Stockport County.
Whitehead played more than 40 times for Stockport last season before making his switch to east London in June. Since then, the Manchester-born player has featured in a number of first-team pre-season matches and started all four Barclays U21 Premier League games so far this term.
Meanwhile, a small number of players departed the Club, with Gary O'Neil joining Queens Park Rangers and Rob Hall moving to Bolton Wanderers. Emanuel Pogatetz returned to German club VfL Wolfsburg at the end of his loan spell and has since joined Bundesliga side 1.FC Nuremburg.
Youngster Declan Hunt has joined Histon on a permanent basis, while England Under-21 defender Jordan Spence has joined Championship club Sheffield Wednesday on a month-long emergency loan.