There was a conversation the other day about the size of the West Ham United squad when contracts expire and players get sold in the summer, and I wanted to start up a new thread to discuss in more detail (and put my own thoughts out there).
We currently have 29 Senior Squad players technically on our books, inclusive of three currently out on loan players (Aguerd, Zouma and Cornet) and three currently on loan at the club (Todibo, Soler and Ferguson).
At the end of the season, the following players contracts are set to expire and I have put what I think West Ham should do as a side note at the end:
GK – Lukasz Fabianski – 39 – Renew contract for 1 more season
CB – Kurt Zouma – 30 – Returns from Loan to Al-Orobah, Let Contract Expire
LB – Aaron Cresswell – 35 – Let Contract Expire
RB – Vladimír Coufal – 32 – Let Contract Expire
CF – Danny Ings – 32 – Let Contract Expire
CF – Michail Antonio – 34 – Let Contract Expire
I would only renew Fabianski’s contract to save on recruitment of another goalkeeper and let the other five players leave at the end of their contracts.
In my opinion, there are then potentially as many as eight players who could be sold in the summer, again I have put what I think West Ham should do as a side note at the end:
CB – Nayef Aguerd – 28 – Returns from Loan to Real Sociedad, Sell in the Summer
CB – Konstantinos Mavropanos – 27 – Sell in the Summer
DM – Guido Rodríguez – 30 – Sell in the Summer
AM – Mohammed Kudus – 24 – Keep if we can, but may have to Sell in the Summer
AM – Lucas Paquetá – 27 – Keep if we can, but may have to Sell in the Summer
LW – Maxwel Cornet – 28 – Returns from Loan to Genoa, Sell in the Summer
RW – Luis Guilherme – 18 – Sell in the Summer
CF – Niclas Füllkrug – 31 – Sell in the Summer
Personally, I wouldn’t be disappointed to sell any of them if they don’t want to be at the club. However, IF Kudus and Paquetá are open to staying (and Paquetá doesn’t get banned for life, then I would prefer to keep them.
With regards to the three players we currently have on loan from other clubs, I would like to see all three signed permanently.
Now, IF and it is a BIG IF, all of the above were to come to fruition:
– All contracts, with the exception of Fabianski’s are allowed to expire.
– We sell all the players above, with the exception of Kudus and Paquetá.
– We sign all three players currently on loan at the club.
Our squad starting point come the 1st of July will look like this:
GK – Alphonse Areola – 31
GK – Wes Foderingham – 34
GK – Lukasz Fabianski – 39
CB – Kaelan Casey – 20
CB – Jean-Clair Todibo – 25
CB – Maximilian Kilman – 27
LB – Emerson – 30
RB – Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 27
DM – Edson Álvarez – 27
DM – Tomas Soucek – 29
CM – Andrew Irving – 24
CM – Carlos Soler – 28
CM – James Ward-Prowse – 30
AM – Mohammed Kudus – 24
AM – Lucas Paquetá – 27
LW – Crysencio Summerville – 23
RW – Jarrod Bowen – 28
CF – Evan Ferguson – 20
That is an 18 man squad, but a squad lacking in any real depth across a lot of positions.
There are seven players out of contract at other clubs this season that I would be keen to go for:
LB – Tyrick Mitchell – 25 – Contracted to Crystal Palace until seasons end
LB – Kieran Tierney – 27 – Contracted to Arsenal until seasons end
RB – Kyle Walker-Peters – 27 – Contracted to Southampton until seasons end
RB – Tariq Lamptey – 24 – Contracted to Brighton until seasons end
CM – Angel Gomes – 24 – Contracted to Lille until seasons end
CF – Jonathan David – 25 – Contracted to Lille until seasons end
CF – Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 27 – Contracted to Everton until seasons end
Now, I am not saying we can or even will sign those players but for the most part they aren’t unrealistic and we have been linked to a few of them already. Additionally, they are all mid-twenties and should be coming in to their prime years.
I’d do my utmost to sign either Tyrick Mitchell or Kieran Tierney as a left back to compete for a starting place with Emerson.
I’d do my utmost to sign either Kyle Walker-Peters or Tariq Lamptey as a right back to compete for a starting place with Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
I’d do my utmost to sign Angel Gomes AND Jonathan David simply because I think we’d be foolish not to sign them if the opportunity is there.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin I know will be contentious with some of you, but we’ve been linked to him already so I thought I’d throw him in there and also to sign him on a free gives us a proven Premier League forward (albeit not prolific and susceptible to injury) that adds depth to our forward line.
With those additions, our squad would look like this:
GK – Alphonse Areola
GK – Wes Foderingham
GK – Lukasz Fabianski
CB – Kaelan Casey
CB – Jean-Clair Todibo
CB – Maximilian Kilman
CB – tbc
CB – tbc
LB – Tyrick Mitchell / Kieran Tierney
LB – Emerson
RB – Aaron Wan-Bissaka
RB – Kyle Walker-Peters / Tariq Lamptey
DM – Edson Álvarez
DM – Tomas Soucek
CM – Andrew Irving
CM – Angel Gomes
CM – Carlos Soler
CM – James Ward-Prowse
AM – Mohammed Kudus
AM – Lucas Paquetá
LW – Crysencio Summerville
RW – Jarrod Bowen
W – tbc
CF – Evan Ferguson
CF – Jonathan David
CF – Dominic Calvert-Lewin
With the addition of another centre back (perhaps two) and another winger (Kudus and Paquetá can both play on the wing) we’d have a 25-26 man squad with a decent set of substitutes and we’d be signing players predominantly with Premier League experience, whilst also significantly reducing the average age.
Personally, if we can pull all of the above off (and I know it is a pipe dream), then who wouldn’t be excited for next season under Graham Potter?
Written by DIE_4_WHUFC February 07 2025 11:19:13
