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West Ham United officially appointed Manuel Pellegrini as their new manager on 22 May.
Given the amount of experience the Chilean possesses, having already managed clubs like Villarreal, Real Madrid and most notably Manchester City, his return to the Premier League has delighted the fans and critics alike.
The Hammers had a forgettable campaign this season, which saw Slaven Billic sacked in November last year before the now-outgoing manager, David Moyes put them in some sort of revival path as they finished the season at 13th from the top.
With Pellegrini at the helm, the east Londoners would like to better that tally and aim for a possible European qualification next season.
With the present squad lacking quality in both attack and defence, however, he will have his work cut out for him.
Here are three things the Chilean needs to do with the current West Ham side before the next season starts.
#3 Sort out Manuel Lanzini's contract issues
Pellegrini believes in possession based build-up play from midfield and Manuel Lanzini is worth his weight in gold in that regard.
Nicknamed La Joya, Spanish for ‘The Jewel’, the Argentina international has been a fan favourite since his arrival in 2015.
With five goals and six assists from 27 Premier League appearances last season, he’s been a real shot in the arm for the Hammers in the latter part of their campaign this season.
More than the numbers, it’s his style of play that makes him indispensable to the club and brings him all the plaudits he deserves. He is proactive, he thrives with the ball, he’s got pace and phenomenal technical ability to ghost past defenders. At age 25, he is yet to hit his peak.
Ideally, he is the kind that Pelligrini can trust. The play-maker still has two years left on his current contract, however, a new contract is overdue, as a pay rise matching the likes of Michail Antonio and Marko Arnautovic, would ensure his assured future at the club.
Pellegrini needs to sort out those contract issues as soon as possible and provide the Argentine a free hand in their attacking midfield.
#2 Reinforcements at full-back
Pellegrini has promised the fans that he will bring attacking football back to the London Stadium, something that has eluded them for a while now.
The former Manchester City and Real Madrid boss will have to make some necessary adjustments in the squad, if he is to imbue the attacking philosophy that he has advocated all through his career, though.
He mostly opted for a traditional 4-3-3 formation at City, which requires a high press, high defensive line and swift full backs but the Hammers are not equipped with the right kind of players to pull that off.
If he goes for a 4-2-2-2 system like he did at Malaga, it would mean two full backs making runs down the flanks, with two holding midfielders in the middle are required.
Veteran Pablo Zabaleta doesn’t have the pace or energy for such a task and the only other natural right back available, Sam Byram, is reportedly on his way out of the club.
The average age of the squad's full-backs is 29.2, which means the new boss will have to upgrade the squad for next season.
#1 Keep Arnautovic and sign one more striker
Attacking football amounts to nothing if you don’t have the right kind of attacking players up front. After all, football is about goals and the ones who score them.
Pellegrini has got a few attacking players at his disposal, the best of which is Marko Arnautovic. He is not a natural striker but David Moyes’ decision to use him as a centre-forward has yielded exceptional results.
To put this into perspective, the Austrian has scored 11 times in 31 games in the Premier League this term. He has also turned provider to six goals and created many more chances for his team-mates - a quality that makes him all the more important for next season.
Looking at the uncertainty over Andy Carrol’s future and Javier Hernandez's not-so-inspiring form, however, the new boss will have to sign at least one more striker this summer.
He could even deploy a front-two, featuring the new entrant alongside Arnautovic like he did during his time at City with Aguero and Negredo.
