West Ham United have had a turbulent start back in the Championship, with the Hammers set to enter a new era under Scott Parker after dismissing Nuno Espírito Santo, and the incoming head coach may already be feeling some transfer relief.

After six wins in their first 13 league games, and following back-to-back home defeats to Southampton and West Bromwich Albion, Nuno Espírito Santo was relieved of his duties at West Ham and has since been replaced by former Burnley boss Scott Parker.

Parker oversaw a 3-3 draw away to Cardiff City in midweek in his first game in charge, and will already be well aware of the improvements that need to be made to the squad, with one eye likely already on the January transfer window.

It was a tricky summer window for the Hammers, who took a while to get up and running, though they may be feeling some relief right now after missing out on an eight-figure player who has so far failed to set the world alight at his new club.

West Ham United were interested in Sorba Thomas from Stoke City in the summer

Following relegation from the Premier League to the Championship, West Ham sought to overhaul their recruitment strategy, bringing in former PSV Eindhoven, Rangers, and Copenhagen Head of Scouting Nils Koppen to spearhead their squad building.

It took a while to get underway, but the likes of Arne Engels, Manor Solomon, Joel Piroe, Edvin Austbo, Joel Veltman, and Divine Mukasa headed to the London Stadium, and among the numerous other names linked with a switch to the Hammers was then-Stoke City winger Sorba Thomas.

Thomas, 27, was coming off the back of an excellent personal campaign with the Potters, with whom he registered ten goals and 15 assists in 52 appearances across all competitions, as Alan Nixon confirmed via his Patreon that the Welsh international was a player of interest to the Hammers.

The winger spent time in the West Ham academy as a youngster, but was released at an early age, and a homecoming appeared on the cards before Premier League interest turned his head the other way.

Hull City completed a late £10.5 million deal for Sorba Thomas on deadline day as West Ham United missed out

Stoke, having lost each of their three opening league games of the season, were understandably reluctant to lose Thomas, who was undoubtedly their most important player from the prior campaign, directly contributing to over 40 per cent of the Potters' goals in the Championship that year.

However, following promotion to the Premier League, Hull City were keen to add some strength and depth in the final third, and after a drawn-out transfer saga, agreed a fee in the region of around £10.5 million that saw the Welshman head to Humberside.

By this point, it became clear that West Ham, despite breaking the EFL record fee for Engels, were reluctant to match that fee, having signed both Solomon and Austbo as well, and whilst neither of those have necessarily shone as yet, they may well have dodged a bullet in Thomas.

Hull City boss Sergej Jakirovic has recently criticised Sorba Thomas' training efforts

Since his arrival at the MKM Stadium, Thomas has made five Premier League appearances, three of those being starts, grabbing one assist against Everton.

However, in the very same game, he gave the ball away cheaply to allow Thierno Barry to score for the visitors, whilst on his full debut against Newcastle United, he gave away an unprecedented penalty.

In that past couple of games, Thomas has found himself as an unused substitute against Brentford, and out of the matchday squad entirely against Ipswich Town, with Tigers head coach Sergej Jakirovic openly criticising his displays in training.

It's not exactly been an ideal start for Thomas, who certainly has time on his side to turn things around with Hull, but has failed to make the desired impression thus far, as West Ham must be relieved whilst Stoke will be laughing.

Have West Ham dodged a bullet in missing out on Thomas? Was selling him the best thing that Stoke could have done? Will the Welshman prove to be a hit for Hull? Share your thoughts below!

West Ham United may have dodged an expensive transfer bullet in Sorba Thomas, as Stoke City and Mark Robins must be laughing

Although things aren't totally rosy at West Ham right now, a poor attitude in the squad would only have made things worse, and given Parker more of a headache to deal with.

Had he joined the Hammers, there is no guarantee poor performances in training would have ensued, though whilst West Ham may be relieved after this news, Stoke must be laughing.

Since Thomas left, no other team has picked up more points than the Potters in the Championship, winning eight and losing just one of their last 11 league games, with the Welshman's exit coinciding with a switch in system and subsequent climb up the table.

Stoke lost their best player from last season and have gotten better, whilst making a significant profit in the process, as Mark Robins must be laughing at how things have played out.