talkSPORT has named the 4 key signings Julen Lopetegui wants in his new West Ham starting XI for next season.
It’s hard enough for managers when taking over at a new club nowadays.
But for Julen Lopetegui at West Ham there are added layers of pressure.
The Spaniard takes over from David Moyes after a sustained period of success by West Ham’s standards in the Premier League era.
Lopetegui must show he can succeed where Moyes failed, though, by combining style with substance.
West Ham fans want to see a better brand of football than they’ve been fed over the last few years.
With that as a backdrop, though, Lopetegui must also help oversee an extensive rebuild of the Premier League’s smallest and second oldest squad.
Aaron Cresswell has signed a new one-year deal with West Ham. That leaves Lopetegui with 17 senior players.
West Ham target eight signings
So the Hammers need to make at least eight signings this summer. And that’s before factoring in any further departures.
West Ham have been linked with all and sundry of late.
Technical director Tim Steidten is leading recruitment and is currently focused on trying to bring a host of Brazilian stars to West Ham.
The Hammers clearly feel that market offers the best value for money. And that’s important with a modest £100m transfer budget – especially given the volume of signings needed.
The Irons have also been linked with a number of players based in Europe and indeed the Premier League.
Now talkSPORT has named the 4 key signings Lopetegui wants in his new West Ham starting XI.
Before he was appointed, Hammers News exclusively revealed Youssef En-Nesyri was the striker on a list of four players Lopetegui presented to the owners and Steidten during talks.
Now it seems talkSPORT believe they can fill in the gaps for the other three names on that list.
talkSPORT name 4 key signings Lopetegui wants
Their report claims Lopetegui is planning an ‘exciting’ new-look Hammers side spearheaded by En-Nesyri – who has been linked with a £17m move from Sevilla.
It is claimed Alphonse Areola, Vladimir Coufal, Emerson Palmieri, Kurt Zouma, Tomas Soucek, Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen will be the current stars to keep their places.
At the back the report claims Max Kilman, who played under Lopetegui at Wolves, will be Zouma’s new central defensive partner.
In midfield, Brazilian Luis Guilherme and Portuguese attacker Jota Silva will replace Lucas Paqueta and James Ward-Prowse.
And En-Nesyri will lead the attack up front.
If talkSPORT are right then that’s an exciting set of signings.
But they’ve made one clear error – leaving out Edson Alvarez who would surely replace Soucek in the new-look West Ham first XI?
Kilman, Silva, Guilherme and En-Nesyri in new first XI?
There would also be a debate about who should start between Zouma and Konstantinos Mavropanos.
A front four of Bowen, Kudus, Silva and En-Nesyri with Guilherme in behind is tantalising.
A £25m deal for Guilherme is now said to be close with the teenage star being released for his medical.
Silva has a £17m release clause, costing the same as the rumoured fee Sevilla want for En-Nyesri.
That’s a total of just under £60m.
Kilman would then undoubtedly eat into most of the remainder of the current budget with Wolves said to value him at £40m.
Although West Ham are rumoured to be in talks with Atletico Madrid about selling Nayef Aguerd to them for between £25-30m. So that would boost the kitty for another couple of shrewd additions.