Now, it’s time for results. West Ham United have endured a stop-start introduction to life under Julen Lopetegui, but the October international break will have given the Irons time to prepare for the next phase of Premier League action.
Lopetegui was emboldened by his side’s impressive 4-1 victory over Ipswich Town before the pause. He expressed satisfaction at getting off the mark at the London Stadium but stressed that there was plenty of work still to do.
19/10/24
Tottenham (A)
9th
27/10/24
Man United (H)
14th
02/11/24
Nott’m Forest (A)
10th
09/11/24
Everton (H)
16th
25/11/24
Newcastle (A)
7th
It’s been over two months since the Lopetegui era took off competitively, and though the Spaniard was reluctant to push his new signings through to the field initially, the £120m’s worth of talent ushered through the gates this summer is beginning to show its quality.
West Ham's summer transfer window
In the build-up to Saturday’s Premier League clash against Tottenham Hotspur, Lopetegui was reluctant to disclose the extent of Niclas Fullkrug’s seemingly interminable injury. The 31-year-old striker, signed from Borussia Dortmund for £27m in the summer, has missed the past five matches with an Achilles injury.
The other end of the field presents greater positivity, however, with Jean-Clair Todibo and Max Kilman, both summer additions, forging a bond that speaks of strength and fluency. Technical director Tim Stiedten had his work cut out in fixing the Hammers’ shoddy backline but he’s done a stellar job.
Though the expenditure was high, West Ham have done a good job of dishing out salaries economically. Centre-backs Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd took home a combined £175k per week last term, but the struggling duo are now gone and Kilman (£ 100k per week) and Fullkrug (£90k per week) are experienced talents with more to offer.
Furthermore, Todibo, a loanee, is only taking home £20k per week at present, giving the east Londoners some financial breathing space, while the talented Crysencio Summerville, who won the Championship Player of the Season with Leeds United, pockets just £30k each week.
It’s important that United continue to trim the fat and ensure that exciting additions can be brought in. Danny Ings earns a pretty penny and should be ditched, but so too should Lukasz Fabianski, who is now past his best and has been firmly replaced.
Lukasz Fabianski's wage at West Ham
West Ham purchased Fabianski from Swansea City for a £7m fee back in 2018, and he’s since completed 202 appearances for the Irons, making them the team he has played for the most across his long and storied career.
Losing his place in the Premier League to Alphonse Areola across the past few campaigns, the ageing keeper’s role has been understandably diminished. But he’s still impressed, with The Athletic’s Roshane Thomas even hailing his “brilliant” shot-stopper last season.
But we’re now approaching the end, with the veteran’s contract having entered its final year. Fabianski has earned his flowers in the capital and can retire, or search for one final adventure elsewhere, with the glowing knowledge that he has played an instrumental part of West Ham’s most illustrious modern era.
Even though he did not feature throughout the club’s Conference League-winning campaign, serving as the Premier League keeper that year, he’s still been awarded a medal and deservedly so, for his exploits got United into the position.
But with a salary of £60k per week, it’s clear that he should now be cut loose. For example, he takes a bite out of the wage bill that exceeds the combined earnings of both of the aforementioned Summerville and Tobido.
Todibo is indeed on loan so will be rewarded with a bumper new deal when his obligatory permanent purchase option from OGC Nice is activated, but such raised earnings, as discussed earlier, could be easier served with the space created from Fabianski’s departure.
Summerville, however, plies his trade at the London Stadium for good, and though he’s only young, there’s enough quality there to suggest that he could become a major player, so his £30k-per-week salary is actually a piece of very astute business from Stiedten and co.
Despite enduring the misery of shipping five goals, the 39-year-old was handed a creditable 5/10 match score by the Evening Standard’s Dom Smith, who said: ‘Jota beat him with two good finishes. Then Salah did. Showed excellent distribution with one inch-perfect long ball forward for Crysencio Summerville, then made a super stop to deny Alexis Mac Allister. Busy.’
The former Poland international has only played 45 minutes in the top flight this term, introduced at half-time during West Ham’s home defeat against Manchester City.
Though he hasn’t started the current campaign in form quite so fine, Areola’s 74.5% save rate from the 2023/24 Premier League edition was bettered only by Manchester United’s Andre Onana, as per FBref, whose marginal advantage came in at 74.9%.
The French shot-stopper is embedded between the sticks and will not want to relinquish his place any time soon, and though West Ham landed Wes Foderingham in July on a free transfer after his deal at Sheffield United expired, this acquisition was likely made with an eye on replacing Fabianski as the back-up.
The man turns 40 before the end of the season, after all. He’s been a fantastic servant for the club and will forever be remembered for his role in winning the Conference League in 2023, but his forthcoming departure is right, necessary.
Considering West Ham’s sure-fingered dealings in the transfer market, it’s likely that the funds freed up could be turned toward a new star, elsewhere on the pitch, who could add crucially to this latest version of the Hammers machine.
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