West Ham suffered a frustrating 2-0 defeat at home to Manchester United on Monday in a game overshadowed by controversial refereeing decisions.

The Hammers were reduced to ten men after just 15 minutes when Sofiane Feghouli slid in on United defender Phil Jones, only for referee Mike Dean to deem the tackle recklessly and brandish a red card.

However, Slaven Bilic’s men defended admirably, and it took until the 63rd minute for United to break the deadlock through Juan Mata, before Zlatan Ibrahimovic, stood in an offside position, made it two 12 minutes from the end.

The defeat was West Ham’s tenth of the campaign, and it saw them slip down to 13th in the Premier League table, seven points clear of danger.

Bilic’s men had recovered after a sluggish few months by beating Burnley, Hull, and Swansea over the Christmas period, but back-to-back defeats at Leicester and then United has stunted their progress.

And, with the January transfer window now open, Bilic may be tempted to dip into the market to get his West Ham side back into the top half of the table, following last season’s seventh place finish.

Thus, here are TWO players who will make West Ham’s season if they signed at the London Stadium this month…

Daniel Sturridge

The return of Andy Carroll from injury has been a welcome boost for a West Ham strike force that have been blunt in front of goal this season.

Carroll and Diafra Sakho are the only strikers on the books at the London Stadium that have netted in the Premier League this season, and they’ve scored three between them.

Thus, more firepower is needed, and they would certainly get that if they signed Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge.

The England international hasn’t made too many league appearances this season, albeit has started the Reds’ last two matches, and could be tempted by regular first team football in East London.

The Hammers were linked with him back in November and, although Sturridge has featured more in recent weeks, a move to West Ham could be best for both parties.

Mario Mandzukic

Another forward West Ham have been linked with this season is Juventus’ Mario Mandzukic, who could become a surplus to requirements in the coming weeks.

The Italian giants signed Gonzalo Higuain in the summer for €90 million and, alongside the highly-rated Paulo Dybala, Mandzukic is likely to see his game time reduce in Turin.

Dybala is slowly making his way back from injury at present, allowing Mandzukic to continue deputising, yet you sense that, when fit, Dybala would be ahead of the Croatian in the pecking order.

Thus, 30-year-old Mandzukic could be tempted by a move away from Serie A, and West Ham were reportedly linked with the former Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich forward.

186 goals in 430 club appearances is a fantastic record from a player who would make a massive difference at the London Stadium – Bilic should try and get ahead of Tottenham to secure his signature.