West Ham United manager Julen Lopetegui would have had a big wake-up call when watching the Euros last night.
Julen Lopetegui faces a monumental task, if he is to get West Ham back inside the European places this season.
Getting his transfer business done and dusted as soon as possible will be crucial for Lopetegui, especially considering the difficult start the Hammers have been handed after the 2024/25 Premier League fixtures were released.
Aside from signing a proven centre-forward, the Spaniard should be prioritising strengthening his back-line.
The likes of Kurt Zouma need upgrading upon as soon as possible. Wets Ham conceded 74 Premier League goals last season – a tally worsened only by the three relegated clubs.
However, it’s not just the centre-forward and centre-back departments that are in urgent need of attention.
In fairness, every single position at the London Stadium needs to be addressed by Lopetegui this summer.
However, the Spaniard’s priorities might just have changed after watching one of his players in action out in Germany last night…
Julen Lopetegui must make upgrade after West Ham player’s shocker
The Hammers have numerous players representing their respective countries out in Germany this summer.
Jarrod Bowen, Alphonse Areola, Vladimir Coufal and Tomas Soucek are all expected to play key roles at EURO 2024.
However, Coufal desperately failed to impress for his country last night, and it would have been a big wake-up call for Lopetegui.
Yes I know he registered an assist against Cristiano Ronaldo and co, but that doesn’t cover up for the way in which he was turned inside out all game.
It was a long old night for him out in Leipzig.
Coufal’s performance against Portugal was an all too familiar sight for the Hammers fans who have watched him recently.
The 31-year-old actually began the 2023/24 campaign in decent form, but he regressed badly during the second half of the season.
He doesn’t have any kind of pace, power or dynamism whatsoever, and his skillset isn’t befitting of a right-back playing for a Premier League side with ambitions of finishing inside the top seven.
I know, defending against Rafael Leao is obviously not an easy job, but Vladimir Coufal didn’t even make it difficult for the AC Milan star.
I think that if Julen Lopetegui was watching Coufal in action last night, which I’m sure he was, he’ll now be in no doubt that he needs to bring a new right-back to West Ham this summer.
Tiago Santos anyone? Yes please – the Lille star, 21, would be a huge upgrade on Coufal, and would add a completely different dimension to our play down the right hand flank.
Lopetegui apparently wants to bring the Portuguese youngster to the London Stadium this summer.
And after Vladimir Coufal’s display for the Czech Republic last night, the Spaniard may well be looking to expedite the process of that transfer.
I’m not saying that the 31-year-old defender should be sold – I still think he’d be a decent squad player for West Ham. He just shouldn’t be a regular starter for us anymore.
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