West Ham United’s alleged new home kit has been “leaked” online and Hammers fans won’t believe the colour on it.
It’s that time of year when West Ham fans start looking for information on the club’s forthcoming new kits.
Many Hammers supporters have wanted the club to go in a new direction with the club’s kit maker.
The ‘You’ve been Tango’d’ orange and white third kit from Umbro the season before last looked to have been the final straw for many West Ham supporters.
But it ended up becoming somewhat iconic when the Hammers won their first major trophy for 43 years while wearing it in the Europa Conference League final.
West Ham were in the last season of a five-year deal with kit maker Umbro back in 2019 when it was renewed.
The firm had replaced fans’ favourites Adidas as the West Ham kit manufacturers.
In the summer of 2019 West Ham announced a renewal with Umbro until the end of the 2022-2023 season. The British firm made West Ham’s first ever replica kits.
West Ham’s situation with Umbro
Just a year later, though, West Ham made a new announcement ‘confirming a new long-term extension with Umbro which will see the global sportswear company remain as the Club’s Official Technical Partner’.
But it did not specify the end date for the deal.
Last year we reported on claims that West Ham were set to remain with Umbro in a deal worth over £7m per season.
That prompted disappointment among some West Ham fans who have called for Umbro to up its game.
They have produced some excellent efforts. But some have been instantly forgettable and many of the third strips end up barely being worn by the team.
Many fans feel Umbro often get the shade of claret and blue on the home strip completely wrong.
Now the alleged new West Ham home kit has been “leaked” and fans won’t believe the colour on it.
Alleged new home kit “leaked” and fans won’t believe colour
A post on social media purports to show the new home strip.
It is the traditional claret and blue with the Betway logo but the shirt pattern is made up of Umbro badges.
And in a feature that has angered supporters on social media, the stitched Umbro logo on the right breast has a red diamond in the middle which sticks out like a sore thumb.
We must stress this kit has not been verified as the official new strip.
But worryingly it is the same as the kit featured in a post from a popular West Ham X account last month.
You can see the alleged new kit in the posts below.
Fans will be hoping leak is proved wrong
It is fair to say reaction has been pretty scathing.
In defence of Umbro, last season’s kits were not too bad.
The all-white away strip was superb and while the home strip divided opinion, it did at least have a West Ham-related pattern in the shape of bubbles.
Many wanted Nike or Adidas as the club’s new kit manufacturer.
But as we pointed out a few months ago, suddenly Umbro didn’t seem so bad after all when Nike became the centre of national controversy when they changed the colours of the England flag on the new Three Lions kits.
Check out what some fans believe to be the top 15 West Ham kits of all-time below.