A new deal for Bowen has been agreed

Hammers can hold onto major stars Earlier when writing that David Moyes had dropped a heavy hint Mohammad Kudus may start at Villa on Sunday I found it impossible to decide who he would drop.

And that was the first time in many years that I have been able to think like that with so many automatic selections taking their place given a shallow squad size.

There are those who believe that the Ghana international is only going to be around at West Ham for a year or two and already we have seen Manchester City advance on Lucas Paqueta.

Major star Paqueta

Kudus is a very, very good footballer and it now turns out that Chelsea were interested in signing him before we nicked him away given their lowish bid.

Hammers can hold onto major stars We have become so used to West Ham bringing in run of the mill types that to see those two, and Jarrod Bowen, now on a seven year deal, is something of a shock to the system.

I am not among those who believe any of these guys we are attracting will suddenly disappear - and let's not forget Edson Alvarez - and the next big challenge is to ensure that we become a top six or seven club and keep them all.

Kudus can stay

There are probably only two or three clubs no player will refuse to join - Man City, Real Madrid or Barca (perhaps) so if David Moyes can keen us right up there and in Europe we have every right to believe we can hold onto these guys.

West Ham is slowly becoming the club we have dreamed of it becoming - we are going to a new level and we can at last think of holding onto the best and bringing in others of the same quality.