Along with Crystal Palace, Chelsea could be the big beneficiaries of the south London club’s shift in transfer policy.
Palace targeted young players this summer in a bid to lower the age of their squad. Will Hughes became their oldest outfield addition on Saturday aged 26 with the rest 25 or under.
Midfielder Conor Gallagher fits the age profile but, unlike his fellow arrivals, only joined on loan. On the evidence of his first two league games Gallagher will return to Chelsea much improved. Either ready to challenge for a place in their squad or significantly higher in value.
Gallagher, 21, followed his tenacious, man-of-the-match debut against Brentford with a two-goal display at West Ham.
Manager Patrick Vieira said: ‘Conor had a really good loan (at West Brom) last year. He is a player that needs to play week in and week out and coming to us was a really smart move for him because we will give him time to keep playing and to keep performing.
‘He showed a lot of quality in both sides of the game, in possession and out of possession. He has a lot of energy. He will do well for us.’
A knock-on benefit of their new policy, Palace hope, will be financial. Signing younger players with sell-on value will leave them better placed to recoup some money when the time comes for them to move on.
This summer Palace said farewell to nine senior players who left for nothing at the end of their contracts. Eight were 30 or over and six of those cost a combined £61million. Connor Wickham, 28, signed for £9m in 2015, was also let go. All money Palace have effectively waved goodbye to.
Their new approach should help address that situation and Celtic’s Odsonne Edouard, 23, or Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah, 22, could be next in.
Ahead of tomorrow’s transfer deadline, Vieira said: ‘We want to have more options up front and with the chairman (Steve Parish) and (sporting director) Dougie Freedman we are working on trying to find that player that will improve the squad.’
West Ham led twice through Pablo Fornals and Michail Antonio, the former’s brilliant opener a fitting way to mark his Spain recall last week.
‘It is massive for me,’ Fornals said. ‘But it is not just for me, it shows the great shape the team is in right now, how we are playing and working.’