Former West Ham midfielder Don Hutchison has explained why he feels the Hammers are one of the sides who could break into the Premier League's top-six this season.
Manuel Pellegrini has been active in the summer transfer market to make a number of exciting captures, including signing Pablo Fornals from Villarreal and Sebastian Haller from Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Hammers finished 10th last season, two points above Watford and 14 adrift of sixth-placed Manchester United, which shows a significant improvement is needed.
However, Hutchison is confident that West Ham can do exactly that and identified the players he feels can drive Pellegrini's men forward.
“I think there’s a group of teams who, with a good season could, and I look at two of my old sides in Everton and West Ham,” he told BBC Radio 5Live.
“I look at the players West Ham have got, Yarmolenko is back now after a horrendous injury, Felipe Anderson will be a big player, Pablo Fornals is a really exciting midfield player who can go box-to-box.
“They’ve still got people like Mark Noble, Declan Rice, Jack Wilshere there, and they’ve got Sebastian Haller in from Eintracht who is a very, very good player.
“I don’t think he is the type of player who West Ham think he’s going to be, he’s not a 20+ goal sort of striker, he’s more like a Fredi Kanoute - very talented, very laid back and very casual, who has got so much ability.”
