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West Ham’s potential starting XI for the 2025/26 season - if the transfer rumours prove true.
Steady improvement has been the order of the day since Graham Potter took charge of West Ham United – but for the club to get back into contention for the European places, they’re going to have to be busy in the summer transfer market.
Sporting director Tim Steidten, who was responsible for some significant spending ahead of the 2024/25 season, has left the club and that means the opportunity for a new direction when the next window opens – but what will West Ham’s squad look like come the start of next season?
We’ve dug through some of the more plausible transfer rumours floating around to put together a potential starting XI for Potter for next August, with four new faces and a total of £271m worth of players…
Goalkeeper and defence
GK: Alphonse Aréola (£10m); CB: Max Kilman (£40m), Taylor Harwood-Bellis (£20m), Jean-Clair Todibo (£35m)
We’re assuming here that Potter will stick with the back three that has worked out pretty well so far, and also assumed that he will look to bring in some reinforcements for it – with £75m already spent on Kilman or Todibo we’re giving them time to make those positions their own, but also added Southampton’s Harwood-Bellis, a promising centre-half who’s been among the better performers in a dire season for the Saints.
Recent reports suggest that the Hammers are among the clubs interested in the 23-year-old, and that the Saints will be working to recoup the £20m or so they spent on him regardless of their impending relegation. Despite being benched under previous head coach Julen Lopetegui, we’ve decided that the number of needs elsewhere in the squad means that Aréola is likely to stay for the time being.
Wing-backs and central midfield
WB: Dennis Cirkin (£5m), Aaron Wan-Bissaka (£15m); CM: Tomáš Souček (£19m), Angel Gomes (free)
Despite the fact that West Ham plainly need a new left-back, the only credible rumour we’ve seen connecting them with one is a story which lists them as being among several teams who are chasing Sunderland left-back Cirkin. The Anglo-Irishman is entering the final year of his contract at the Stadium of Light and is valued at around £5m by Transfermarkt, so we’re taking a stab at that being a fair price. Wan-Bissaka, who is looking like last summer’s best buy so far, should keep his place on the right for some time to come, especially given the enormous length of his contract.
In midfield, West Ham are hoping to land England international Gomes when his deal with Lille runs down this summer, and his technical quality might suit Potter’s system better than other teams, who will probably prefer a more defensively-minded player. If they can pick him up for free, it would represent a fantastic bargain. Edson Álvarez could leave this summer, but we’re assuming that the redoubtable Souček remains a first-team regular.
The front three
WF: Mohammed Kudus (£38m), Jarrod Bowen (£22m); CF: Hugo Ekitike (£67m)
If there’s one player which West Ham will be tempted to break the bank for this summer, it’s a first-rate centre-forward, something they’ve been scratching around to find for quite some time now.
There are plenty of stories suggesting their interest in strikers all around the continent, but if they want to make a splash then we think the link with Eintracht Frankfurt striker Ekitike is among the more likely options. He’s on a few shortlists, but West Ham are one of the few teams who would offer him nailed-on first-team minutes and who aren’t prioritising other targets. The 22-year-old struggled to make his mark at PSG but has been in pretty lethal form in the Bundesliga, and Frankfurt are expected to demand €80m (£67m) for his services.
We also wouldn’t be shocked if West Ham added some depth out wide but the odds are that Bowen remains the clear first choice on the right wing, with Kudus and Crysencio Summerville competing for starts down the left. This probably isn’t a position at which West Ham will look to make a major investment, with midfield, defence and a striker the real priorities.
All told, that would be the better part of £300m worth of players in the starting line-up even with a couple of budget-friendly additions thrown in – but will it be enough for West Ham to get back into the top half of the table, and will Potter have the players to rebuild his reputation as one of England’s most gifted coaches? We’ll have to wait until next season to find out…