West Ham have had by far the worst opening to the Premier League of all of this year's sides. Graham Potter has lost his opening two League games and has been knocked out of the League Cup by Wolves despite leading in the 80th minute.
Following the Carabao Cup exit, Potter spoke about the destitute situation at the club: "We're all in pain so we need everybody to help, we need everybody's support, we need to push forward and on to the next match. The team's suffering at the moment, we all are, we're all hurting”
One of the biggest problems that West Ham have faced in their opening games has been their new goalkeeper, Mads Hermansen. The Hammers splashed out on the Danish keeper this summer, and in his opening two games, he has conceded eight goals.
What's worse is that he has only faced an xG of 6.78, meaning in just two games he has conceded from more than one shot that most keepers would be expecting to save, and that doesn't even account for his weakness defending set pieces.
Due to this, West Ham are looking at drastic measures and could bring in Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana on loan.
Onana looking for late window exit
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Onana had not featured in pre-season due to a hamstring injury, and many fans expected to see him feature in their game week two clash against Fulham. However, Ruben Amorim continued to pick Altay Bayindir ahead of him, despite the Turkish keeper being partially responsible for United’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal.
United are now also heavily linked with signing Royal Antwerp goalkeeper, Senne Lammens, bringing Onana’s future into further doubt.
Reports from Graeme Bailey via United in Focus have indicated that “intermediaries have held active talks with a number of clubs about a loan deal for Andre Onana, and we can confirm one of those clubs is West Ham United”.
No good options for Potter
Veteran goalkeeper Łukasz Fabianski was one of the many players whose contract was not renewed at the end of last season, meaning the only other keepers at the club are Wes Foderingham and Alphonse Areola.
Areola was given the nod to start against Wolves in the League Cup, but his performance wasn’t much better than Hermansen’s had been. Areola faced shots valued at 1.95 xG but conceded three goals, leading to the Hammers' elimination.
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The signing of a Manchester United goalkeeper might sound prestigious, but Onana has previously been described as “one of the worst goalkeepers in Man United's history" by former United and Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic, and Amorim’s displeasure with the Cameroonian should be another warning sign about this potential signing.
Bringing in an alternative goalkeeper at such an early stage is a clear sign of desperation from West Ham. and Onana as that alternative might not be a vast improvement. The opening games have indicated that problems at West Ham are greater than any one signing.