Premier League 2015/16 preview: Slaven Bilic takes new-look West Ham into a new era

Slaven Bilic has added a host of new players to the West Ham squad ahead of the club's final season at Upton Park. Dean Mouhtaropoulos / Getty Images

With the 2015/16 English Premier League season a matter of weeks away, Richard Jolly provides his thoughts on each of the 20 teams and predicts their final league finish. Here he examines West Ham United.

West Ham United’s last season at Upton Park began on July 2. It promises to be exhausting as well as historic, the end of one era and the start of a very different one.

Slaven Bilic represents a reaction to Sam Allardyce, his pragmatic predecessor, and the Croatian’s team will have distinct differences.

The £10 million (Dh57m) centre-back Angelo Ogbonna becomes West Ham’s most expensive defender ever, while Pedro Obiang and Dimitri Payet, two other newcomers, will alter a midfield deprived of Stewart Downing, who began last season brilliantly.

They have also added Al Jazira’s Argentine playmaker Manuel Lanzini on loan.

It will be instructive to see if target man and record buy Andy Carroll can be accommodated. Allardyce’s other ally, club captain Kevin Nolan, almost certainly will not find a place in a more technical team. But Bilic’s inheritance includes the basis of a fine side, aided by Allardyce’s recruitment and the return of Carl Jenkinson, who excelled on loan.

Yet after West Ham recorded just two wins from their last 16 games under Allardyce as it became ever clearer he was leaving, Bilic’s first task is to prevent poor form from straddling the summer and ensure he, unlike Avram Grant, does not struggle from the start of his reign.

The next is to ensure the Europa League does not inflict serious damage on their Premier League campaign.

Key man: Winston Reid — Quietly, the New Zealander has become one of the most dependable defenders in England. Bilic is likely to want his centre-backs to be more progressive in possession. Reid should be able to learn from one who was such a classy player.

Pivotal signing: Dimitri Payet — One of the most creative players in Europe last season, when he recorded 17 assists for Marseille, the Frenchman should add invention to West Ham. He was a £10.7 million buy.

Crucial factor: Bilic himself. The Croatian's predecessor amounted to a guarantee West Ham would not be relegated. His successor could make them better but runs the risk of making them worse. He is untried in England and has to keep the club up.

Prediction: 14th

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