Daniel Kretinsky can give Spurs & Crystal Palace a slice of West Ham transfer surprise | OneFootball

Daniel Kretinsky can give Spurs and Crystal Palace a slice of West Ham United's transfer surprise with another exciting deal involving Sunderland...

West Ham United's relegation from the Premier League meant the likes of Spurs, Nottingham Forest, and Crystal Palace survived. However, it has left the club facing one of the most important summers in recent memory.

Despite finishing in the bottom three, the Hammers were far from cut adrift and ultimately ended the campaign much closer to survival than many had expected when they were adrift in January. Interestingly, Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace were two of the three clubs immediately above the relegation places, alongside Nottingham Forest.

It certainly underlines just how fine the margins were across the lower half of the table. Instead, Daniel Kretinsky and the West Ham United hierarchy face the challenge of rebuilding a squad capable of bouncing straight back up to the Premier League from the Championship.

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Significant departures like Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville have generated transfer funds towards their cause, and healthy ones at that, but those sales also leave clear gaps that must be filled if the club are to justify their status as one of the Championship's promotion favourites.

One area that could still require attention is centre-forward. Taty Castellanos made an encouraging impression after arriving in January, showing real quality that suggested he could become an important player.

However, his long-term future remains uncertain, and if he were to move on before the transfer deadline, West Ham would suddenly find themselves in urgent need of another proven goalscorer. That is where the recent link between West Ham and Sunderland striker Wilson Isidor makes sense.

The French-born Haiti international has recently been linked with this move to the London Stadium, but it is easy to understand why. West Ham need greater firepower after losing key attacking players, and with Castellanos' future unclear, and Isidor has all the attributes to be one of the Championship's standout forwards.

His pace and power were evident in his last season at this level, but he also has the movement and finishing to score goals and he is certainly a handful and an awkward opponent. In Sunderland's promotion campaign, Isidor bagged 13 goals and two assists, before the striker became more of a back up following promotion.

Despite that, he still managed six goals in 32 appearances, with only 13 of those being starts. It's clear that, surrounded by higher-calibre creative players, there is every chance Isidor could develop into a 20-goal-a-season striker at Championship level.

The supporting cast would certainly help. Jarrod Bowen remains one of the division's most dangerous attacking players, while West Ham are hoping to sign Celtic's Arne Engels. He would add more technical quality to consistently create opportunities in the final third for Isidor, Bowen, and co.

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You add Isidor's running power to the combination Nuno Espirito Santo is trying to cultivate, and West Ham would suddenly have an attack capable of troubling any defence in the second tier.

That said, the Hammers would not be alone in recognising Isidor's talent. Per The Chronicle, both Tottenham and Crystal Palace have previously been credited with an interest in the 25-year-old, highlighting the regard in which he is held, even in the top flight.

Those links illustrate that Isidor is viewed as a player capable of being a competent Premier League player at the very least in the future, even if that opportunity has only materialised from the bench during 2025/26.

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For West Ham, convincing a player admired by established Premier League clubs to join a Championship side would send a significant statement to the rest of the division. It would demonstrate that the club's stature, financial strength, and ambition remain intact despite relegation.

It is here where Kretinsky ultimately has the opportunity to make a real impression. West Ham have already shown they are prepared to spend and think ambitiously rather than simply accept life in the Championship. Completing a major deal for a striker such as Isidor would reinforce that message and perhaps even leave clubs like Spurs and Palace wondering what might have been.

If Kretinsky can persuade highly sought-after players to drop down a division in pursuit of an immediate promotion push, West Ham will not only strengthen their own chances of returning to the Premier League but also underline that they remain a club capable of competing for elite-level talent, regardless of the league they currently find themselves in.