New West Ham manager Slaven Bilic keen to be ‘active’ in market

New West Ham manager Slaven Bilic

Share this story





New West Ham manager Slaven Bilic has revealed that he will look to do some business in the summer transfer window, but insists he will not panic buy.

The Croatian was appointed to take over from Sam Allardyce who opted not to sign a new contract at the end of last season.

Allardyce left the club in a strong position after they earned a place in the qualifying rounds of the Europa League, while finishing 12th in the league.

However, the former Newcastle and Bolton man did not appear to fit in with the Hammers’ expectations in terms of style.

Bilic is set to embark on his first managerial job in English football but did play for the east London outfit for a year in 1996 before being sold to Everton.

The 46-year-old has since enjoyed spells in charge of the Croatian national side and most recently Turkish giants Besiktas.

West Ham co-chairman David Gold has vowed to hand the new recruit a healthy backing in the transfer market as they look end next season on a high before moving into their new home at the Olympic Stadium.

The former defender has admitted that he will need to bring in a few reinforcements but insists he will look to get the best deals possible.

Bilic said: “We will not rush just for the sake of buying. We have to be very, very clever with that. We can’t afford to buy players just for the sake of buying.

“But we’re going to try and be active, but only if those players are better than the ones we already have.”

The Hammers have already completed a deal for Pedro Obiang, while youngsters Darren Randolph and Martin Samuelson have moved to Upton Park from Birmingham and Manchester City respectively.

Leave a comment