00:00So, James, looking at West Ham and obviously the January window now concluding. Obviously,
00:10it was quite a strange window. They were obviously in search for a forward and they got that
00:14over the line in the last few days with Evan Ferguson's loan deal. James Ward-Prowse returning
00:20from his Nottingham Forest loan as well. He had some good moments at West Ham during his
00:25time there. What do you make of the January window as a whole? Do you think it was navigated
00:29well? Obviously, Graham Potter coming in, it's sort of a difficult situation when you
00:35have a managerial change and then you have to go into a transfer window. So, what did
00:40you make of the January window for West Ham?
00:43I think looking back in the immediate aftermath, I think we should be relatively pleased with
00:49the business that we did. I think a lot of fans and probably even Graham Potter and the
00:53club would have liked to have probably got another centre-half in, a little bit of defensive
00:57cover as well. The decision to recall James Ward-Prowse made so much sense. It made sense
01:02right at the beginning of the month. I'm not too sure why it took an entire month to get
01:05that over the line. He was barely playing at Forest and we needed someone with some
01:11legs in the middle. Obviously, the striker with Evan Ferguson, we needed a striker desperately.
01:18We spoke about it last week. That was the one sign that if we needed to get one done,
01:23it had to be a striker. I think Evan Ferguson, 20 years old, needs a lot of game time. He's
01:27had a few injury problems over the last eight or nine months. He has struggled to get back
01:33into the Brighton team, so it makes sense for him. We need a striker, so it makes sense
01:36for us. So, I think all in all, we can be relatively pleased. I think the frustration
01:41is that it took so long to get that business done. James Ward-Prowse being recalled and
01:46Evan Ferguson coming in happened on the last day. But the change of manager, Tim Stuyton
01:52leaving the club, there was a lot of upheaval at a time when the club would have wanted
01:57to be really focusing on working on the shortlist, bringing in some players, strengthening the
02:03team. But Lopetegui leaving and Graham Potter coming in, and obviously that means that there's
02:07a completely different profile of player that he wants compared to what Lopetegui may have
02:11been looking at. And then the recruitment team's ripped up and that started again.
02:15So all in all, with all of that in mind, I don't think we can be too disheartened that
02:20he's only a striker and a lone recall. I think we can be pretty pleased and confident that
02:25it was the right business.
02:27Yeah, and obviously, just on Evan Ferguson, reunited with Graham Potter. Potter said he's
02:33positive that that was a really good bit of business. Where do you stand? Because it was
02:38only two seasons ago or so where he was dubbed as the next Serling Harland, the next big
02:43thing in the world of football, especially in the striker. The way he's output for his
02:48age at the time was quite remarkable. People can't really forget how good he was under
02:53Graham Potter at Brighton.
02:55Yeah, and that's what's pleased me the most, is that Graham Potter's gone for a striker
02:58that he knows well. He gave him his debut at Brighton, so he knows all about Evan Ferguson.
03:04Evan Ferguson knows all about what Graham Potter wants out of his striker. So it does
03:09feel like it's a bit like a match made in heaven. The key thing is keeping him fit.
03:13But if he is fit and he's playing every week, then we've already seen what he can do at
03:17Brighton. If he's playing consistently, he scores goals. The game that stands out the
03:21most for me is that hatchery against Newcastle, if it was a season before last. Newcastle
03:27were trying to finish in the top four then, and he goes there, he scores a hatchery against
03:33them. So he can finish, only 20 years old as well, he's a top class player. And we've
03:38been crying out for a player like that, that fits the manager system. We've signed so many
03:43strikers over the last decade, maybe even more, who have come in for big money, with
03:49big reputations, never really suited the manager or their style of play. And it feels like
03:54with the way that Potter and Ferguson have worked together in the past, it looks like
03:59we finally got a striker that does that. He fits the mould. He is the profile that Graham
04:04Potter wants and is looking for, and that can work in the system. The key thing also
04:10is that we have enough players around him that can get the best out of his abilities
04:14and the best out of the role that he's going to be playing up front. I'm aware there's
04:17no option or obligation to buying the loan, it is a straight loan. But I'm sure the two
04:22clubs will get around the negotiating table at the end of the season if he scores enough
04:27goals to drive us up the table.
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