West Ham and David Moyes have made us all look ridiculous in August

With just three game weeks completed of the new Premier League season, it’s far too early to be making snap judgements but it’s safe to say the performances and results of West Ham have been something of a surprise.

Few if any would have predicted that after a summer that was long plagued by a lack of transfer activity verging on farce and the sale of their best player and captain Declan Rice, the Irons would be sitting in second place on goal difference, only behind champions Manchester City.

A tally of seven points from trips to Bournemouth and Brighton and a home derby with moneybags Chelsea is an outstanding return, particularly when you take into account the money spent by the Cherries, the Seagulls’ own excellent start and going down to 10 men against the free-spending Blues.

That it has come after such a trying summer for the club and their fans is all the more impressive.

The shine of the Europa Conference League win, that night in Prague and the homecoming to celebrate a first trophy in 43 years were overshadowed by chairman David Sullivan’s proclamation that Rice would be sold this summer. Those blowing bubbles were burst.

A tediously long saga and £105m later, the man who lifted that trophy was on his way to Arsenal, leaving West Ham with a pile of cash but no set plan on how to spend it.

Disagreements on transfer targets between Moyes and new director of football Tim Steidten allegedly took place, with the former preferring Premier League-proven players and the former Bayer Leverkusen maestro looking further afield.

Moyes’ apparent desire to create a Brexit XI was probably aided by future Eastenders character Mark Noble’s role as sporting director, and saw the club eventually make a double bid for Manchester United’s Scott McTominay and Harry Maguire.

United oddly turned down the offer for the Scot while their now-former captain demanded a pay-off to leave the club, scuppering his chance of regular first-team football and the best option available to him.

If this was bad, the reporting of an advertisement for seven positions on the website TransferRoom (a site used by clubs, but not posted on) turned the summer into near-farce.

The mood around the club and within the fanbase was one of dismay with Thomas Skinner’s appearance on the Overlap perhaps being the only positive news story – bosh!

At one point, West Ham were the only club in the league not to have signed a player. That changed just two days before their opening game at Bournemouth, as Edson Alvarez arrived for £35m from Ajax, in what seemed like more of a Steidten move than Moyes.

It got the ball rolling and since then, the Irons have begun to splash the cash, replacing Rice with several players, most notably James Ward-Prowse, a player straight from the manager’s book and one who has taken to life in the East End in brilliant fashion.

The former Southampton skipper marked his debut with two assists against Chelsea, one, of course, coming from a corner. He then grabbed his first goal on his return down south at Brighton in a game that showcased both him and two of West Ham’s standouts to date.

READ: Antonio, Bowen and JWP execute Moyesball flawlessly to burst Brighton’s bubble

The hero of Prague, Jarrod Bowen, has lived up to his now-iconic chant, being on fire once again at the Amex.  Michael Antonio also got his second of the campaign with a really well-taken third to kill of the game. It was his screamer against Chelsea that turned the tide of that game when it appeared the Blues were on the front foot. He’s already just three goals off equalling his entire league tally for last season.

The side’s output should be greatly boosted by the arrival of Mohammed Kudus, who completed his £36m move to the London Stadium from Ajax last week. Scorer of 18 goals last season for Ajax and a star for Ghana at the World Cup, he was linked with a raft of sides including Brighton, who had agreed a fee for him weeks ago. It could be quite the coup, especially if Lucas Paqueta ends up banned following a betting investigation.

Konstantinos Mavropanos also joined the club last week in an £18m deal from Stuttgart. The former Arsenal defender serves as an alternative to Maguire and adds further depth and options to Moyes’ backline. Again, it feels like a Steidten move given the Bundesliga connection.

As things currently stand, the club have made a profit this summer, almost entirely due to the Rice deal, but there has also been decent fees recouped for Gianluca Scamacca and Nikola Vlasic, neither of whom lived up to their billing.

Scamacca, in particular, was never suited to Moyes’ style and his departure means a striker needs to be purchased before the window closes; Danny Ings has struggled for game time and Antonio is 33 and not exactly prolific.

It appears the solution will come in the shape of Corinthians’ Yuri Alberto. The 22 year old, who was recently capped by Brazil, is not a sure-fire thing and the Irons would probably be better off adding a more proven forward.

It’s not as if money is major concern, with extra revenue streams from the Conference League win, Europa League football this season and gate fees from the second biggest average home attendance in the country.

With the business done so far and possibly more to come, it appears West Ham have learned from Aston Villa with Jack Grealish in 2021 and Spurs with Gareth Bale in 2013, about how to use the money generated from the sale of their crown jewel.

It could mean an even better season for the club than last year, and it certainly should in the league. The Irons massively underperformed last season and only guaranteed survival very late on.

A top-10 finish should be the aim this year – it is a very top heavy league and anything above that would be very impressive. It feels unlikely the sixth and seventh finishes of the two seasons before will be attainable.

Having won the Conference League last year and made a Europa League semi the year before, no one could question that West Ham take the competitions seriously. Prague was a once-in-a-generation moment and is far more enjoyable than focusing solely on domestic football.

A serious crack should and almost certainly will be taken at making another final in Dublin next May.

How about a first domestic final since 2006 and a first win since 1980? The FA Cup has always been special in the East End and Moyes will be looking to win his first major domestic trophy after his first trophy of any kind last season.

After the negativity of large parts of last season, when it appeared the manager would be sacked, and a very frustrating six to seven weeks in June and July, it appears bubbles are once again blowing at West Ham. Who knows how high they could fly?