West Ham suffered a second successive mauling at the hands of Manchester City on Wednesday after going down 4-0 at the London Stadium.

Slaven Bilic’s men had already been thumped 5-0 by the Citizens this year when they met in the third round of the FA Cup in January, and it was a similar story in the Premier League last night.

Goals from Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Gabriel Jesus, and Yaya Toure sealed a comprehensive win for Pep Guardiola’s side, who go level on points with fourth place Liverpool as a result of their 14th victory of the campaign.

On the other hand West Ham remain 11th in the table, yet Crystal Palace’s win over Bournemouth on Tuesday night means that the gap between the Hammers and the bottom three is down to nine points, which is still a healthy gap, but one they need to keep an eye on over the coming weeks.

Many saw the January transfer window as a great opportunity for Bilic to strengthen his squad after a largely under-whelming first half of the season, and he did just that by bringing in Jose Fonte and Robert Snodgrass.

However, there were still some deals that could have been done by the Hammers, and here is what their FRONT THREE could have looked like had they got one key deal over the line last month…

Robert Snodgrass

West Ham completed the signing of Hull’s star man Robert Snodgrass for just over £10 million last week, and he made his debut for the Hammers in their 4-0 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday.

Bilic’s men were one of several clubs eyeing up a deal for the Scottish international, and given his excellent first half of the season for the Tigers, it’s not difficult to see why.

The 29-year-old scored seven goals and laid on three assists in 20 Premier League games for Hull, which means that he had a direct part in half of their league goals so far this season, even a few games on since his departure.

Snodgrass is clearly a very talented attacker who will certainly strengthen the Hammers in the final third – West Ham did well to beat the competition and get a deal done for the Scotsman.

Michail Antonio

Arguably West Ham’s player of the season so far, Michail Antonio got the goals that the strikers didn’t in the early stages of the campaign.

The Englishman has scored eight goals and laid on three assists in 22 Premier League starts this term, with five of those goals coming in the first four games of the season, and those three assists coming in the same game against Crystal Palace three weeks ago.

Antonio, who earned call-ups to both Sam Allardyce’s and Gareth Southgate’s England squads last year but didn’t play in any of the three games, has been used in several different positions this term by Bilic, but it’s when he’s further forward where he does the most damage.

His directness and relentless energy has been a bright spark for West Ham this term, and he’ll continue to knock on the door for England if he remains in good form over the coming months.

Andy Carroll

Andy Carroll’s return to full fitness has been a welcome boost for a West Ham strikeforce which had managed just one Premier League goal between them before his return.

Only Diafra Sakho had netted in the league before the English forward scored his first of the campaign in their 5-1 defeat to Arsenal on December 3, and since then Carroll has gone from strength to strength.

The 28-year-old scored in the win over Swansea on Boxing Day and volleyed home a goal-of-the-season contender in the 3-0 success over Crystal Palace last month, which must have helped inspire him to a brace in the 3-1 victory over Middlesbrough a week later.

With everything that went on with Dimitri Payet, having Carroll back gave the club a huge boost during a testing time, and keeping him fit between now and May will be crucial in their bid to record back-to-back top half finishes in the Premier League.

Daniel Sturridge

West Ham were repeatedly linked with a move for Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge in the first half of the campaign given the Englishman’s lack of playing time at Anfield.

Yet, although they were loosely linked with a deadline day move for the forward, no deal ever materialised for the 27-year-old, who will have to try and force his way into Jurgen Klopp’s starting eleven.

Sturridge has been restricted to just five Premier League starts this term, netting twice, and with Sadio Mane having returned from the African Cup of Nations this week and Philippe Coutinho nearing full fitness, it’s unlikely that he’s going to add to that tally anytime soon.

That’s why it was slightly surprising not to see the England international move last month, especially as West Ham would be an ideal place to go given that he’ll certainly play more there, and likely get ample goal-scoring opportunities.

Nonetheless, it wasn’t to be, and he’ll have to fight for a place at Liverpool in the second half of the season.