The claret and blues will both be there or thereabouts come what May, despite Villa’s 4-1 thrashing of the Hammers indicating otherwise.
However, when it comes to transfers, West Ham and Aston Villa are also in competition with one another.
West Ham have signed star Aston Villa desperately wanted in James Ward-Prowse claims former boss Dean Smith
The two clubs sit in that second tier of teams looking to ruffle the feathers of the so-called “big six” – a sycophantic term perpetuated by the football media and particularly Sky Sports.
After the loss to Aston Villa, David Moyes revealed he wanted to sign their striker Ollie Watkins when he was at Brentford
Villa clearly beat West Ham to the punch.
But it seems there was a measure of revenge in the summer according to one ex manager.
Ex manager’s admission highlights big Hammers coup
Speaking as a guest on Sky Sports, Smith revealed he really wanted to sign Ward-Prowse for Villa.
The ex Aston Villa boss waxed lyrical about Ward-Prowse and made the revelation, admitting he pushed to try and capture the midfield ace from Southampton.
However, Moyes and the West Ham board were successful in the summer with what now appears to be a good £30 million transaction where Smith had previously failed.
Against Villa, Ward-Prowse delivered numerous outstanding corners for the Hammers, but they were not sufficient to win the match.
In 10 games for West Ham so far this season, the former Saints captain has eight goals and eight assists.
