Rebuilding West Ham
Matt Watts sets himself the task of putting the Hammers back on track – including a couple of big swings in the transfer market...
Matt Watts
West Ham went south, fast. A Europa Conference League triumph in 2022/23. A top-half Premier League finish in 2023/24. Relegated two years later amid a toxic atmosphere. The team with the second-highest average attendance in the country (62,455) are in the Championship for the first time in 15 years.
So, just how bad is the hangover? There’s no time to moan and groan: West Ham are strong favourites to win the division, and have to justify that.
It’s been a summer of change in East London. Off the pitch, Karren Brady and David Sullivan are out, and Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský is now the majority shareholder. Head of Recruitment Maximilian Hahn is also out, and Director of Player Recruitment Nils Koppen is in.
There is managerial continuity, however. Nuno Espírito Santo is staying on, and he has now been joined at the London Stadium by his long-term assistant, Rui Pedro Silva.
While there’s seemingly positive news in the boardroom and the dugout, the bad news for West Ham fans is that the transition from the Premier League to the Championship can be painful – especially when a potential relegation hasn’t been accounted for. Even a single season in the second tier will leave a gaping hole in the Hammers’ already-porous finances, without some cloth-cutting. The headline from their latest accounts was a net loss before tax of £104.2m in 2024/25.
That was in the Premier League. The reality now? TV money: down. Prize money: down. Sponsorship and commercial income: down. Matchday revenue: down.
West Ham need to generate income and they need to cut costs. The best way to do that is by selling players and getting them off the wage bill. However, it’s also imperative that the Irons return to the Premier League at the first time of asking. One season out of the big time is bad – two or three could be catastrophic. The best way to do that? Have the best possible players. That’s the balance to find.
On top of that, supporters won’t just expect West Ham to win – they will expect them to win well. And, frankly, they deserve to be entertained, especially having traded the great Upton Park for a soulless bowl of a stadium. It’s time to see a bit of ‘The West Ham Way’.
For the first time in the NTT20 era, West Ham are an EFL outfit, and our coverage of this historic club starts here: Rebuilding West Ham.
The squad
Here’s our breakdown of the current West Ham squad:
As is always the way with relegation Premier League sides, it looks big, and you can find some names that feel out of place in the second tier of any nation.
But if you scratch beneath the surface, you can split the current squad of 29 in a way that only highlights the uncertainty around the playing squad at this stage:
There are 15 players over the age of 22, and a large proportion of them are either completely out of favour, guaranteed to leave (or want to leave), or both. They include Alphonse Areola, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Jean-Clair Todibo, James Ward-Prowse, Edson Alvarez, Crysencio Summerville, Maxwel Cornet and Niclas Füllkrug. There isn’t an existing, dependable, culture-setting ‘leadership group’, which is a concern.
There are 14 players aged 22 or under. This group has one successful – and expensive – signing from overseas (El Hadji Malick Diouf), some thus-far-unsuccessful signings from overseas (Soungoutou Magassa, Mohamadou Kante, Pablo, Keiber Lamadrid) and a chunk of talented, but yet to be fully trusted, academy graduates (Kaelan Casey, Oliver Scarles, Freddie Potts, George Earthy, Callum Marshall).
Who has gone, and who is likely to follow?
Reports suggest that West Ham need to sell £150m worth of talent this summer, so getting a whopping £85m from Tottenham for Mateus Fernandes was a good start.
To fill the rest of the ~£65m hole, there are a few obvious candidates to depart, headed up by Crysencio Summerville. The 24-year-old Dutch international looked electric at the World Cup, and with a number of reported suitors, including Manchester United and Roma, he seems likely to command a significant fee.
Player of the Season Konstantinos Mavropanos improved significantly under Nuno and has been heavily linked with a move to Borussia Dortmund. Fellow centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo also looks set to move on. The Frenchman took issue with being substituted in the 26th minute of a 3-1 defeat to Newcastle in May and, during a heated exchange, informed Nuno that he would not play for him again. Todibo was not included in the matchday squad for the final game of last season.
Edson Alvarez – last seen playing against England at the Azteca – is unlikely to stay in East London. The Mexican spent last season on loan at Fenerbahçe, although they opted against turning the loan into a permanent deal. Taty Castellanos won’t be short of interest after he scored six goals in less than 1400 minutes during the second half of last season. Hammers fans will no doubt be desperate to keep hold of the Argentinian, who showed he was up for the fight in their ultimately unsuccessful relegation battle, but those qualities will also make him appealing to top-flight clubs.
As for others surely looking for a way out: Maxwel Cornet (remember him?) is expected to leave, either on loan again or on a permanent basis. Alphonse Areola is surely off, after losing the No.1 jersey last season. James Ward-Prowse is another player who has a strained relationship with Nuno and looks set for pastures new.
And then there’s Niclas Füllkrug.
The Irons signed the German striker for £27m two summers ago, but he looks a busted flush. After struggling to cut the mustard in the Premier League, Füllkrug failed to impress in Serie A, either, scoring once in 20 league appearances for Milan last season. Yet, at 33, he still has two years left on his West Ham deal, which is reportedly worth £90,000 per week.
Who’s staying?
Jarrod Bowen. Jarrod Bowen. Jarrod Bowen. The Herefordshire boy, who has become the Prince of West Ham, signed a revised contract last week to commit his future to the club.
Jarrod Bowen in the Championship! A 29-year-old England international, who could easily have been named in the semi-finalists’ World Cup squad. A player who has recorded 20+ direct goal involvements in four of the last five Premier League seasons, having previously scored 52 goals in two and a half seasons at this level with Hull City. Nice.
Mads Hermansen arrived last summer, lost the gloves to Alphonse Areola in September after conceding 11 goals in four matches, then took them back in February and kept six clean sheets in 14 league appearances. The Dane’s underlying numbers last season were pretty poor, but at 26 he has time on his side. Plus, after consecutive relegations from the Premier League with Leicester and then West Ham, he’s due another crack at the Championship.
At right back, I would be inclined to keep both of the double-barrelled boys, Kyle Walker-Peters and Aaron Wan-Bissaka. While AWB underwhelmed last season, his first season at the club shouldn’t be forgotten. KWP’s experience and versatility make him an incredibly useful squad player.
Central defence is a key area for major surgery. If Mavropanos and Todibo both move on, then I would hang on to Max Kilman. The 29-year-old has done very little to justify the £40m spent on him a couple of years ago, but a season in the Championship could kickstart his career again. I’m a great believer that, sometimes, you have to go back in order to move forward. I would also make a case for Kaelan Casey and Ezra Mayers to be kept in the building for 2026/27.
At left-back, there will be strong interest in El Hadji Malick Diouf, but I would be loath to let him go. The 21-year-old had a perfectly respectable, if inconsistent, first season in England, and he has the potential to tear up the Championship. Like Casey and Mayers, there might be an argument to loan out Ollie Scarles, but I would keep him as Diouf’s understudy. The 20-year-old acquitted himself well against Premier League opposition when the Senegalese international was away at the African Cup of Nations.
In central midfield, after the departure of Mateus Fernandes, I would be looking to retain the services of Tomas Soucek, Soungoutou Magassa, Mohamadou Kante and Freddie Potts. Soucek – still only 31 – has one year remaining on his current deal (with the option of a further year) and his experience and physicality could be vital.
Magassa and Kante, who joined from Monaco and Paris FC respectively, have the potential to kick on. The former could nail down a spot in the middle of the park, now Fernandes has left. Several Ligue 1 clubs have shown an interest in Kante, 20, but Nuno has said he’d be unwilling to sell the young Parisian, who has been compared to a young Patrick Vieira. Finally, Potts has already shown in flashes what he is capable of – see his Man of the Match performance against Newcastle last November – and he has Championship experience, having spent 2024/25 on loan at Portsmouth.
As with a few of the other homegrown young players, West Ham’s relegation could be an opportunity for Potts to flourish. After all, you can’t call yourselves ‘The Academy of Football’ if you don’t give at least some of your young talents the opportunity to establish themselves, now that you aren’t playing against Arsenal, Manchester City and the like each week. Even so, this is an area that could use a big-name signing – a bona fide star.
On the left, Keiber Lamadrid’s loan move has been made permanent, reportedly on a five-year deal with an option for a further two. The 22-year-old Venezuelan winger could be another beneficiary of the Hammers’ relegation.
As for the forwards, if Taty Castellanos does indeed leave and the Irons can find someone to take Niclas Füllkrug off their hands, then that would leave Callum Marshall and potentially Pablo as their only striking options. Like so many before him, Marshall has an excellent pedigree at youth level, but he has yet to hit the heights in first team football. The 15-cap Northern Ireland international still has time, at 21, but needs to make his mark soon.
Pablo, often used as a second striker, failed to score in 17 appearances following his January move from Gil Vicente. He has at least four years left on his contract, so West Ham will hope the 22-year-old finds the second tier more to his liking.
What do West Ham need this summer?
By my reckoning, West Ham need a goalkeeper, two centre-backs (minimum), a central midfielder, two wingers (minimum), a No.10 and two strikers. If the players I expect to leave do indeed go, then Nuno and Nils should have a bit of money to spend, but we certainly won’t ignore the free agent or loan markets.
Let’s get to work!
Goalkeeper
We can afford to bring in an experienced free agent to compete with Hermansen for the No.1 jersey. Nikola Vasilj? Stefan Ortega? Mat Ryan? Take your pick.
Central defence
If we’re bringing in a couple of centre-backs, I would like at least one of them to have recent Championship experience. Christoph Klarer would be a fantastic addition – good on the ball, dominant in the air, and a leader in the dressing room – but trying to get him out of Birmingham would be a difficult deal to do.
Max Alleyne would be at the top of my list if Manchester City are open to sending him on loan to the Championship again. The 20-year-old enjoyed a successful spell at Watford last season, which had to be cut short due to an injury crisis at City.
I asked the good people at GBE Expert Hub about young players who impressed in Portugal last season (it’s Nuno’s homeland, after all) and Bastien Meupiyou piqued my interest. Meupiyou is a 6ft3in left-sided centre back who made 30 appearances last season for Alverca in the Primeira Liga. He’s 20 and still very raw, but he has a lot of potential. The defender also spent the 2024/25 season at Wolves (obviously), so Nuno and his assistant, Rui Pedro Silva, will be aware of him.
Axel Tuanzebe on a free transfer would be good business. Hull appear to have a headstart on us there, though. Adam Webster is a tempting free agent but, given his recent injury woes, I think we’ll pass.
Central midfield
So far this summer, West Ham have been linked with Sydie Peck of Sheffield United and Josh Mulligan of Hibs. While I could absolutely see Peck in the famous claret and blue, I’m not convinced he’s the profile the side needs. When facing West Ham, opposition teams are going to sit back and give up possession, so we’re looking for someone who can put their foot on the ball and dictate play. Someone like Rúben Neves.
That’s right. I said Rúben Neves.
It may be farfetched but, given his history with Nuno, it’s worth a call at the very least. The 29-year-old has spent the last three years playing for Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia; he has ‘secured the bag’, but it’s been a while since he played at a high level. Playing for a top Championship side in London under his former boss could appeal. Will it happen? Probably not – but worth a try.
Wingers/wide attackers
West Ham have been linked with a host of wingers already. Abdul Fatawu, James McAtee, Amario Cozier-Duberry and Nestory Irankunda have all been mentioned as potential targets. As Dani and Danny have been successful in convincing Jarrod to stay, there can’t be too much of the budget spent on another right-sided wide attacker; however, Amario Cozier-Duberry is a very different profile to Bowen, he shouldn’t cost the earth, and he has plenty of room for development (and, therefore, potential profit).
Moving over to the left, Summerville could be difficult to replace. But, with Diouf marauding forward from full-back, a skilful inverted winger or inside forward who can cut in and cause chaos in the half-space could create a pretty lethal combination.
Step forward, Léo Scienza.
As with Christoph Klarer, it would be a difficult deal to do, but Scienza’s profile, combined with his very recent Championship experience, makes him incredibly appealing. Although he turns 28 in September, so there won’t be much in the way of sell-on value, the little Brazilian has magic in his boots. The prospect of Diouf and Scienza attacking down the left, with Bowen coming in off the right, is enough to make the mouth water.
#10
While the idea of Pablo continuing in his role as a second striker isn’t out of the question, West Ham might need a more traditional No.10 to help them break down low blocks in the Championship. Going back to Portugal, Famalicao’s Gustavo Sá is popular with those in the know at GBE Expert Hub. The 21-year-old’s return of four goals and two assists in the league last season doesn’t jump off the page, but his underlying numbers were very good and he shouldn’t have any issues with the physicality of the Championship.
Given Nils Koppen’s recent spell in Denmark, a move for Viborg midfielder Thomas Jørgensen would be something I could get behind. Despite wearing the No.10 shirt and doing his best work in the final third, though, the talented 20-year-old is more accustomed to playing as an offensively-minded member of a midfield three.
Striker
In recent years, the Irons’ sketchy record in the transfer market has been especially poor when it comes to recruiting strikers – the odd hit, yes, but plenty of misses. Wilson Isidor’s name cropped up earlier in the summer. The 25-year-old has fallen down the pecking order at Sunderland and his performances for the Black Cats in the Championship a couple of seasons ago would make him an attractive proposition.
Jovon Makama was incredibly impressive for Norwich last season, scoring 13 goals in all competitions before a broken bone in his foot ended his campaign in early February. Aged 22, standing at 6ft5in and offering a direct threat through the middle or on the right, Makama ticks a lot of boxes for us. He also feels like a player who could grow with West Ham. The former Lincoln man isn’t Premier League-ready just yet, but he could be if he has another strong season in the Championship.
If the pot is a little empty and we can’t fork out for two strikers, then a loan deal for Chelsea’s Shim Mheuka could work for all parties. The 18-year-old hasn’t played a great deal of first-team football, but he was prolific in PL2 last season, has starred for England Under-19s, and has an incredibly high ceiling.
Senegalese striker Bamba Dieng is a free agent after leaving Lorient. The 26-year-old scored 10 goals in Ligue 1 last season despite playing only 1,220 minutes. In terms of other potential free transfers, Ross Stewart has plenty of upside, but his injury record would scare me off.
There are likely to be more targets from overseas than our own scouting network can identify. With the large number of outgoing players taking up plenty of budget and bandwidth, we can expect West Ham’s own additions to come late in the window. And Championship clubs beware: there’s a scenario where the Hammers focus on acquiring top second-tier talent from non-parachute clubs, which could be disruptive and distracting.
One thing seems clear: West Ham in the Championship isn’t going to be boring…
Makama will grow this season - with Norwich.
Take our Jovon’s name out your mouth Watts