West Ham United, the footballing pride of the East End of London, has long been accused of underachieving. However, their huge fanbase, state-of-the-art stadium, and premium London location suggest a team that should perennially perform at the highest end of the English football pyramid.
A History of Underachievement
Yet, for decades now, they have flattered to deceive, even dropping into the Championship as recently as 2011.
However, West Ham has slowly been creeping up the Premier League table in recent years, becoming more of a force to be reckoned with under David Moyes’ stewardship. They even won the UEFA Conference League in 2023.
Recent Setbacks and Changes
Despite this initial success, they lost key player Declan Rice that summer and finished 9th in the last Premier League campaign, narrowly missing out on European football. After splashing the cash to the tune of £103 million on trio Mohammed Kudus, Edson Alvarez, and James Ward-Prowse, this was a disappointing outcome.
However, this summer, West Ham went through something of a metamorphosis, hiring former Spanish national team player Julen Lopetegui to replace the outgoing Moyes, whose negative style of football was beginning to grate on Hammers fans.
Lopetegui’s last managerial stint at Wolverhampton Wanderers ended after only nine months. There, he led them to a pretty dull 13th-place finish, scoring a similarly dull 28 goals in 27 games. However, financial constraints affected his ability to add to his team, which led to his departure.
West Ham: Reasons for Optimism
Despite this less-than-inspiring spell, West Ham have reason to be excited about their new gaffer. He led Sevilla to Europa League success in 2020, and his coaching ideologies differ hugely from Moyes’s. Lopetegui favours a possession-based style of play, similar to fellow Spaniards Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta, who have seen huge success in recent years with this style of play.
It is one thing to have a vision, though, and another, more difficult thing to implement in a group of players. Luckily for Lopetegui, he already has a wickedly talented pool of players who will be more than comfortable making this style of football work and work well.
Players like Lucas Paqueta, Mo Kudus, and Jarrod Bowen are among the most technically gifted in the Premier League, and they also boast Premier League veterans James Ward-Prowse and Michail Antonio.
Comparisons to Success at Other Clubs
There’s no argument that Lopetegui is working with a considerably more talented squad than he had at Wolves, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him have a similar effect on West Ham to his compatriot Unai Emery at Aston Villa, getting the best out of an underrated squad and playing to their strengths.
But that’s not where the positives end for Irons fans. The club have had a superb transfer window and, despite spending over £120 million, has spent shrewdly. A cool £40 million was spent on Wolves centre-back Max Kilman, who played under Lopetegui in Wolverhampton and had a fantastic relationship with him, saying that ‘he’s a top-class coach and someone I learned a lot from’.
In addition to Kilman, they’ve added Leeds winger Crysencio Summerville, Borussia Dortmund’s bruising forward Niclas Fullkrug and Manchester United’s Aaron Wan Bissaka.
West Ham: Smart Business Decisions
Not only are these all fantastic players, but they have also been fantastic pieces of business, too – Summerville, one of if not the Championships’ best players last campaign, was taken off of Leeds for £25 million, a cut-price sum that was welcome to the Yorkshire side, who ran the risk of breaching Profit and Sustainability Rules if they didn’t clear some big-wage players off the books.
Fullkrug, an accomplished 31-year-old forward, was signed for a similar fee. Despite his older age, he is still very much in his prime. He scored 20 goals and assists in 29 matches last season in the Bundesliga and helped Dortmund to the Champions League Final.
A New Hope for Wan Bissaka
Finally, Aaron Wan Bissaka, an incredibly talented right back who is one of the best one-on-one defenders in world football, was signed by Manchester United for only £15 million. Finding his game time minimised due to Erik ten Hag preferring Diogo Dalot; Wan Bissaka will be hungry to return to regular game time and show why United forked out £50 million for him in 2019.
Similarly to Cole Palmer leaving Manchester City for Chelsea, a move to somewhere where he will be the first choice and appreciated properly will benefit both Wan Bissaka and West Ham hugely. He should have a monstrous impact on West Ham’s aspirations this season.
West Ham: A Promising Season Ahead
All in all, West Ham fans should be excited about this season. Although English football gets stronger every year, with teams like Bournemouth and Fulham now able to casually splash out £30 million on new signings, I believe West Ham will see the most improvement this season.
I don’t think it’s unrealistic to think they will qualify for European football next season and play a sincerely impressive brand of football.
