Thoughts From The Kiwi Hammer: Part V... I think

First and foremost, welcome Joao Mario to West Ham United Football Club. It’s definitely a pleasure to have you at the club, and your arrival couldn’t have come at a better time. Oh, and congratulations on your debut at Wigan Athletic’s DW Stadium. Be prepared for your Home Debut though - That will be incredible.

Hello again, ladies and gents, I’ve been away a little while with work, but alas, I have returned. West Ham United knocked out in the Fourth Round FA Cup to Wigan Athletic didn’t surprise me at all. Just a little annoyed at the events surrounding Arthur Masuaku’s six match ban... Yep... How does that happen? Anyway, we’ll talk the January Transfer Window, football, injuries, and of course, Super Mario... I mean, Joao Mario!

JANUARY TRANSFER WINDOW: What’s Happening...?

Photo by Arfa Griffiths/West Ham United via Getty Images

Congratulations to Diafra Sakho for finally getting his wish. Diafra departed for Rennes in an 8-million pound move from West Ham United to the French club earlier this week, and has managed to ruffle the feathers of a few of our fans, who have made a link to him saying he was injured and unavailable for Wigan Athletic, yet he passed his Rennes medical, all via a conversation over social media app Snapchat. Of course, the legitimacy of this is unknown yet, but it could prove to be a sign that he wanted to be another Dimitri Payet.

All I have to say to that is “nice try, son.”

Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images

Fans went absolutely mental on Social Media as their excitement for the imminent announcement of Joao Mario took hold of them. Twitter became filled with Mario memes and as a result, I’m pretty sure I saw the hashtag ‘#AnnounceSuperMario’ trend on Twitter for a while. No matter, Joao Mario arrived West Ham United and subsequently traveled AND played against Wigan Athletic in our 2-0 defeat away at the DW Stadium. Not a bad result for Wigan, but we shall see as to whether Super Mario is Premier League quality.

The details of Joao Mario’s contract at the club appear to be disputed with fans claiming he’ll sign on at the end of the season for a fee of 26-million pounds, with others saying no such deal exists, and that he’s only here at West Ham for the next six months.

We still continue to be linked with the likes of Daniel Sturridge and Gerard Deulofeu from Barcelona. Oh wait, they both joined West Bromwich Albion and Watford respectively. At least there’s Leander Dendocker.

Sadly, we did lose Marko Arnautovic to a thigh injury, but thankfully, the Hammers won’t do what Manchester City did when İlkay Gündoğan was sidelined through injury. If you didn’t hear of this, they walked out wearing shirts with his name and number as they prepared for their upcoming Premier League clash.

According to inews.co.uk, West Ham United have lost Michail Antonio to a calf injury, Marko Arnautovic to a thigh injury, Andre Ayew to a hamstring injury, Andy Carroll to a foot injury (which may require surgery, apparently), Edimilson Fernandes to an ankle injury, Jose Fonte to an ankle injury, Manuel Lanzini to a thigh injury, Arthur Masuaku to a six-match ban following his escapades against Wigan, Mark Noble to a foot injury, Winston Reid to a groin injury and Pedro Obiang to a knee injury, however a few of these players are set to return within the week... Hopefully.

THE CURIOUS CASE OF CHICHARITO HERNANDEZ: Why the Mexican could struggle to make the Mexico 2018 World Cup squad.

Photo by Arfa Griffiths/West Ham United via Getty Images

It certainly is an interesting one, isn’t it? Former Manchester United and Bayer Leverkusen hitman Chicharito could struggle to make the Mexico FIFA World Cup 2018 Squad if his amount of playing time remains the same.

While this World Cup could be the Little Pea’s best yet, he could also struggle, should David Moyes not trust the Mexican international in the Premier League. With the current injury crisis at West Ham, Chicharito may get further game time, however he will need to wait and see.

Joining West Ham United from Bayer Leverkusen at the beginning of this season, Chicharito won the hearts and minds of West Ham fans as he brought a different take on football to the club. Now, with 5 goals from 18 appearances, it looks concerning to see whether he’ll get a chance in the 2018 Russia World Cup.

Either way, Chicharito will definitely be looking forward to getting out onto the pitch and proving to David Moyes why he’s the man to start up top alongside Arnie and Manu when they return from injury!

#COYI