From the Boardroom - David Sullivan



This has been a fantastic transfer window for West Ham United and we are glad that it all came together in the end.


We stated at the weekend that we hoped to bring in between two and four players before the deadline closed on Tuesday, so to get all four is a major achievement for everyone at the football Club.


I understand the supporters frustration that nothing had been happening for several weeks, but it wasn't for the lack of effort by myself and my head of recruitment Tony Henry.


We tried to do the best deals possible with the funds available and not overpay for players.


Having brought in eight players already during the summer, we knew that our major focus heading into the final few days of the window was to bring in a couple of forward players as we have been depleted by injuries in that area of the squad.


Even though Andy Carroll is close to making a first-team return, Slaven and myself decided that we needed more cover in the striking area and we are delighted to have secured the signature of Nikica Jelavic from Hull.


Slaven knows him well from his time in charge of Croatia and he has a wealth of experience in the top flight.


We have given Nikica a two-year contract with an option for a further two-years which shows we believe in his ability and hope he can score a number of goals for the Club.


He has scored goals for Hull and Everton in the Premier League over the last three-years and we feel he will add the strength we need in the forward line and provide healthy competition for a starting place.


We then announced the signing of Victor Moses from Chelsea and are really excited by his arrival at the Boleyn Ground.


Victor has a wealth of talent and wants the chance to play regular first-team football.


He has just signed a new contract with Chelsea which shows what they feel about him as a player, but we are thrilled that we were able to take him on a season-long loan and hope he can enjoy a memorable year with us.


A lot of fans thought we might have been finished then, but we were determined to make the squad even stronger and were delighted that we were able to bring in Michail Antonio from Nottingham Forest.


We have paid a sizeable fee for Michail and believe he could become a star player for the Club over the next few years.


He has got pace and power and his stats show he has an eye for goal with an impressive record wherever he has played.


He scored 15 goals last season in the Championship and was voted player of the year at Forest which shows what the fans thought of him. He has already scored four goals this season as well.


As well as scoring, Michail has been instrumental in setting up goals for his team-mates creating 15 assists last season and it would be fantastic if he could repeat that at West Ham.


We hope like Aaron Cresswell, he can make an immediate impression in the top flight and repeat the form which saw him attract interest from a number of Clubs in this window.


I'm sure the fans have known for a while that we were interested in taking Alex Song back to the Club and despite rumours of other teams wanting to sign him, we are delighted to have secured his services again on a season-long loan. He is a player we all admire.


Alex is currently sidelined with an ankle injury as he had an operation on his ankle in the close season. But he is making good progress and we expect to see him back in action soon.


On his pre-Chistmas form he was possibly the best player we've ever signed. But after Christmas his form took a dip in the second half of the campaign.


Maybe there's reasons for that and hopefully we'll see the true Alex Song and he will make a huge contribution this year.


We are quite short in that department and if we get an injury or two we could have a problem in the central midfield role. So we wanted another senior pro in that position.


I would like to thank everyone at the Club who all worked tirelessly during the window to make sure we got these deals in place and we can now look forward to a memorable final season at the Boleyn Ground.


I would stress that if the fans are not already on the priority list for season tickets at the new stadium, that they should register as soon as possible.


I look forward to seeing everyone at the Newcastle game and hope we can build on our memorable victory over Liverpool at Anfield last Saturday.


Come on you Irons!