West Ham United

Pre-season is completed and the countdown to the 2025-26 season is on.

It's been a busy summer at West Ham with the departure of four long-serving players and Mohammed Kudus joining Tottenham.

The Hammers start the season at Sunderland on Saturday - but are they ready?

Get in touch

Image source, Getty Images

West Ham defeated Ligue 1 side Lille on penalties after a 1-1 draw in their final pre-season campaign on Saturday.

Former Chelsea and Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud opened the scoring for his new club with a fine touch and finish in first-half injury time but Niclas Fullkrug levelled late on when he slotted home from a Tomas Soucek cutback.

Despite the Germany striker missing his penalty in the resulting shootout, goalkeeper Alfonse Areola saved two spotkicks to give the Hammers victory.

Image source, Getty Images

Mads Hermansen says he believes West Ham are a "good fit" for his style of play after his move from Leicester was confirmed on Saturday.

The 25-year-old has signed a five-year contract at London Stadium with a one-year option after departing the Foxes following their relegation to the Championship.

"I'm happy to join West Ham United," he said. "I've felt that West Ham would be a good fit for me and my style of play for a long time.

It feels natural to be here - it was a very easy decision.

"I've heard a lot of great things about the club. I played West Ham twice last season and playing at London Stadium was a great experience. It's an amazing stadium with loud, passionate fans.

"It's what you dream of as a footballer and I can't wait to play in front of 62,500 fans as a West Ham player."

Hermansen played 27 times in the Premier League for Leicester last season and impressed despite the club's difficult campaign ending in relegation.

"The fans can expect me to be brave and bring good energy to help the team in the best way I can," he added.

"This is a great step in my career. I have huge ambitions and I can't wait to get started."

You have been sharing your stories and photos about why you love West Ham.

Here is a final selection of your submissions, but do make sure you scroll down this page to see all the best responses from throughout the week:

John: I watched the 1980 cup final on my grandma's black and white TV. She persuaded me to cheer for the underdog as my dad was an Arsenal fan. West Ham won, and I was a Hammer forever. My dad still swears that Trevor Brooking was bending over to do up his boot laces when he headed in the winner.

Frank: I remember standing on a milk crate with my dad - I think we won a corner and Moore was picking up the ball right in front of me. I was maybe seven years old but I remember it still vividly thinking: "Wow, that's Bobby!" Hurst was still playing for us and Peters was on the pitch (playing for Spurs). I think Pop Robson was playing as well because I recall asking my dad why he was called Pop! Happy memories.

We asked for your views on whether Mads Hermansen is a good choice to be West Ham's new number one or whether you would have preferred another option.

Here are some of your comments:

James: A new keeper is a high priority and finding one with Premier League experience is even more important. It should prove a good challenge between him and Areola for the starting spot.

Geoff: Typical West Ham - go for an adequate, rather than an excellent player. Shows ownership are happy to keep making money with no real ambition for trophies.

Simon: An excellent choice and just the sort of young player, with an excellent record at Leicester, that we should be buying and building the future team around.

Shahid: Only time will tell. It seems in recent times if we are lucky we get one or two seasons where the keeper plays well and then deteriorates drastically.

Mike: Good news. A fairly reliable goalkeeper at about the right age for experience and one who did well in a team that weren't that great defensively. Unfortunately recently, Areola hasn't been up to the form he had when we first got him so Mads should be an upgrade.

Martin: Will be an excellent signing. Areola is a decent shot stopper, but struggles in other areas, especially playing out from the back. A couple of mistakes with that and his confidence looks shot, so Mads to go straight in as number one for me and will definitely help to improve our defence this season.

Mike: I'm all for improving the team but can't help feeling sorry for Areola. One of the best shot stoppers in the league and because he isn't a natural ball player, he's going to get side-lined. I know I'm old fashioned but I like my goalkeepers to be good at preventing goals. Then give the ball to an outfield player to move the ball forward.

Ashley: We know that Potter wants to use a goalkeeper in build-up. It creates an extra passing option to eradicate a man-to-man high press. However, Areola, for all his shot stopping qualities, has shown that neither his long or short passing is up to scratch. Therefore, after spending the first month on the bench, I expect Hermansen to quickly take over as first choice and to stay there for the season.

Image source, Getty Images

West Ham have agreed a fee of about 20m with Leicester City for Denmark goalkeeper Mads Hermansen - and we want your views.

Personal terms not expected to be an issue with the 25-year-old seen as a good fit for Graham Potter's style. Hermansen impressed last season despite the Foxes' relegation from the Premier League.

The Hammers are in the market for another goalkeeper after Lukasz Fabianski left at the end of last season and have Casper Ankergren, who worked with Hermansen at Brondby, as their goalkeeping coach.

They have also been interested in Botafogo goalkeeper John Victor.

So, what do you think? Is Hermansen a good choice to be West Ham's new number one or would you have preferred another option?

Let us know here

This week, we are asking you to share your stories and photos about why you fell in love with West Ham.

Here is a selection of your submissions:

Jim: My dad used to take me to matches as a child. In the late 1980s he was sometimes busy so his friend, Alan, used his ticket and took me. Alan was a sensible man and we left early to beat the traffic. Walking away from the ground we heard mayhem as George Parris scored a late, late winner against Watford. I have never left a game early since - or gone to another match with Alan!

Send us your pictures and stories here

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your views on the departure of Michail Antonio after a decade at West Ham and if you see him returning for a role behind the scenes in the future.

Here are some of your comments:

Barry: It's a shame to see him go but it's not unexpected. He looks to have done a great job to get back on the pitch, which shows the determination he has. When he was at his best, he was at times unplayable. His strength and pace caused many centre-back nightmares. Good luck and thanks for some great memories.

Rebecca: It's just really sad that fans couldn't properly say goodbye to such an important and loved player. So many good memories and no chance to celebrate that!

Colin: He has been a great asset to us and is highly popular, but now is the right time to bid farewell as we need young fresh blood in the team. He knows he will always be welcomed back as a non-player.

Mandy: I'm absolutely gutted that they have let him go. He has been a great player for us and he has played in many different positions when we needed him to. Pleased the club will continue to support him and I hope he comes back behind the scenes one day.

Len: I think it would be great for Antonio to stay at the club as an academy team member and motivate some of the younger players who can look up to him.

Anastasia: Very sad way for him to leave the club after all this time and he deserved a much better send off. We'll always be so grateful for everything he has done for the club.

Image source, Getty Images

West Ham have confirmed Michail Antonio has left the club upon the expiry of his contract.

The 35-year-old striker is the Hammers' leading Premier League goalscorer, and scored 83 goals from 323 appearances in all competitions during a decade in east London.

The club say they will continue "to support and assist him in his ongoing rehabilitation" following his road traffic accident in December 2024 and "dialogue continues over his future involvement with the club in an alternative capacity."

How do you feel?

Was it expected given his injury and the signing of Callum Wilson?

Would you like to see Antonio return to the club in the future behind the scenes?

Get in touch here

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Danielle Sarver Coombs

When it comes to our love for a football club, the answer to why we do lies in "both psychological and societal" reasons.

In the first part of her chat with BBC Sport, researcher and co-writer of the Routledge Handbook of Sport Fans and Fandom Danielle Sarver Coombs spoke about the part that identity and tradition play.

And yet when we are caught up in the emotions of a tough defeat or nerves of an important match, we can often ask why we put ourselves through it.

"There are psychological processes at work and physiological ones in terms of how we respond and engage," Sarver Coombs said.

"An example that I always give is when I take the train to work, I go past Arsenal's stadium and I feel literally nothing other than: 'Oh, that's a big building'. Whereas on a train to Manchester, I went by Villa Park and my heart started pounding. I got all excited and was trying to take pictures out the window.

"I had a visceral reaction to this place. We can't pretend we don't have that sort of physical reaction because we do.

"When someone is talking about a controversial decision and I feel myself getting wound up, even though I intellectually know that I can't control it and that it's just a game, my body doesn't know that.

"My gut doesn't know that and so I have this really emotional response and we can't control that."

A 2023 book titled 'Football on the brain: why minds love sport, external' suggests it comes down to 'an understandable and logical consequence of the human mind's natural inclination to find meaning through beliefs... It's a religion as far as the brain is concerned'.

But it not just about what is going on inside the mind but outside influences too.

"There is a sociological element to it because the community part is such a huge driver and benefit for us," Sarver Coombs explains.

"Sociologically, we are driven to be part of communities. We are driven to find our groups that we can be members of. Sport provides a way to do that - this sense that I was chosen to be part of this community and it's something bigger than I am."

As the game expands, unrest among supporters seems to be increasing, but how does that impact this ingrained love for a club?

"You always go through these cycles when the game is changing," Sarver Coombs said.

"Despite all the changes, the traditions remain so strong and it's such a huge draw that it becomes really hard to actually separate yourself from it. Even if you do, it tends to be a short-term separation. You get sucked back in because something happens.

"People don't want that change, but then we adapt to it and continue moving forward."

Browse this page to see lots of fan stories for how you fell in love with your club.

And check out those from other Premier League teams over here

This week, we are asking you to share your stories and photos for why you fell in love with West Ham.

Here is a selection of your submissions:

Keith: I was in Balaam Street hospital having my tonsils out when they won the cup in 1964. I woke up from the anaesthetic to see it was in telly but couldn't keep awake. Next day the open top bus passed right by the hospital. Me and some other children were waving flags from the first floor window. The bus stopped and Bobby Moore and Ken Brown held the cup up towards us.

Send us your pictures and stories here

Opta's Supercomputer has once again predicted the upcoming 2025-26 Premier League season by using a model to simulate every match 10,000 times.

Image source, Opta

After only happening once in Premier League history beforehand, and not since 1997-98, all three promoted teams have gone straight back down in each of the past two seasons.

Unsurprisingly then, Leeds, Burnley and Sunderland are ranked as the likeliest trio to be relegated by the Supercomputer's model next year - with the Black Cats the only team notto win the title in any of the supercomputer's 10,000 simulations.

Championship play-off winners Sunderland are also relegated the most often of all 20 teams, going down in 66.4% of simulations.

Their fellow Premier League newboys are actually deemed to survive slightly more often than not, with Daniel Farke's side going down in 48.1% of sims, while Scott Parker's Clarets doing so in 45.9%.

As for Wolves, they had a dismal start to last season but improved significantly once Vitor Pereira arrived. Losing Matheus Cunha is a big blow however, and the Old Gold are fourth favourites to go down according to the supercomputer - doing so in 26.4% of sims.

Similarly, Graham Potter's West Ham have sold a key player this summer after Mohammed Kudus switched to Tottenham.

Potter will back himself to get a better tune out of his side after his first pre-season with them, but West Ham are still relegated in 22% of simulations.

Read Opta's full Supercomputer breakdown here, external

West Ham remain interested in Aston Villa's Jacob Ramsey, 24, with the English midfielder yet to make a decision on his long-term future. (Mail), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

We know the relationship between a football fan and their club is a special one so, as we gear up for the new season, we asked you to share why you fell in love with West Ham and some of your favourite moments supporting them.

Here are some of your submissions:

Greg: I moved to London from Munich in 1991. At the time, I did not have a favourite team in the UK. I went to see Arsenal, Spurs and Chelsea but did not like the way they played.

Then, I went to see West Ham v Sheffield Wednesday. They lost in the last couple of minutes, but the support was phenomenal and I liked the way they kept the ball on the ground. No kick and rush as was so common everywhere else at the time. Just a passing side. That's West Ham.

Send your pictures and stories here

Jordan Butler
BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

West Ham were left with big gloves to fill this summer after goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski was released in June.

The 40-year-old Pole made more than 200 appearances in a seven-year spell for the Hammers but was deemed as surplus to requirement by head coach Graham Potter.

Frenchman Alphonse Areola, 33, became Potter's first choice during the second half of last term but he will likely face stiff competition if the club do sign Victor John from Botafogo. Readers will see links with the keeper in our gossip post a little lower on this page.

The 6ft 5in Brazilian has excelled during the past two years and he was a key member of the Rio de Janiero side's league and Copa Libertadores double in 2024. He was also in the team that defeated European champions Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 at the recent Club World Cup.

His 2024-25 statistics make for excellent reading, especially when compared to Areola and the recently departed Fabianski.

It is worth noting that the Premier League is a step up in level from the Brazilian top flight but the numbers do suggest that West Ham may well have unearthed a goalkeeping upgrade.

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

'Why did you fall in love with your club?'

This week, we have asked hundreds of football fans across the world that very question and got hundreds of different answers.

Yes, the themes might be similar - born near a ground; family supported the team; watched a certain player - but the individual story will be unique to each supporter.

The relationship between a fan and their club should not be underestimated, with people ploughing uncountable amounts of money, time and emotional energy into their support for their team.

But what is that makes us love our clubs the way we do?

"A lot of it comes down to our identity," researcher and co-writer of the Routledge Handbook of Sport Fans and Fandom Danielle Sarver Coombs told BBC Sport.

"We become part of this group that means so much to us. It becomes a way to find a community that you're a part of and to find a group of people that, no matter where you are, you could find a pub with other fans of your team. You have that kinship.

"In a world that's increasingly quite lonely, this provides one of the ways that we can have connections so we can have the feeling that we're part of something bigger."

Connection and identity plays a big role in someone's love for their club - particularly when it is a family link.

Many fans talk of being born into who they support - that the connection is so strong there was no other team they could, or would, have chosen.

"The great thing with football is that there's such a strong heritage component to it," Sarver Coombs said. "Often, your grandfather, father, mother or whomever was a fan of the team, so it's part of your family's tradition.

"It's handed down from generation to generation."

The uniqueness of football fandom is something researchers are increasingly investigating.

An article, external published earlier this year in psychology journal Frontiers discusses how football fans often follow follow teams with 'significant attachment and commitment, sometimes to the bewilderment of those outside of the game'.

"With football clubs, you have decades of tradition that you can tap into and it's going to keep coming," Sarver Coombs added.

"Players come and go, managers come and go, shirts change, badges change, but the club itself - the heart and soul of it remains constant. You always have that piece that you're tied to, so the longevity of clubs is a really important part.

"But also, that constant in-person opportunity to be present in a community space really sets football apart from other passions that may be transient or do not have that constant engagement."

Share your story in our My Club My Passion campaign

West Ham have submitted an improved £10m offer to Botafogo for 29-year-old Brazilian goalkeeper John Victor. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

We know the relationship between a football fan and their club is a special one so, as we gear up for the new season, we asked you to share why you fell in love with West Ham and some of your favourite moments supporting them.

Here is a selection of your submissions:

Colin: One day in September 1958, my older brother said to me: 'Right, I'm taking you out today'. We got on a train and ended up at Upton Park. I was instantly hooked by the incredible scenes and atmosphere that engulfed me. The noise, singing, chanting and colours surrounding me was amazing and I was hooked. The walk down Green Street to the stadium still lives with me. We entered the ground on the North Bank and what a thrill. The only time I saw the ball was when a corner was taken, and to cap it all a certain Mr B. Moore made his debut. Fantastic day.

Image source, Tim

Kerry: My earliest memory aged four was the street party following the 1980 FA Cup victory and my first match was in 1983 against Bury in the Milk Cup. I remember walking from my home in Custom House, along Prince Regent Lane to Greengate, as the crowd slowly grew.

Whether onto the Barking Road or nipping through via Haig Road West past my Aunt's house, the crowd, noise and anticipation grew. Just short of Green Street, opposite the Boleyn pub, there was always a programme seller, then that turn onto Green Street.

The wall of sound and smell, the mass of people, the sight of the stadium and the memorabilia stalls.

Always with my brother, rest his soul, meeting his mates and walking to queue at the South Bank turnstiles. Pay then disappear into the darkened concourse under the stands, the noise and food smells ramping up in that enclosed space, up the stairs and into the light and that sight of a manicured pitch opens up before you.

My brother and mates would head to the back to sing, being little I'd go too, before heading to the front just right of the goal. Vendors would walk the perimeter selling programmes or food and drinks. The players warmed up, the XI announced to a cheer, except the "oooh" that was reserved exclusively for Neil Orr, and then the song - our song - drowned out almost every other noise bar the ref's whistle.kickoff.

For 90 minutes, my fate was in their hands, those XI of Johnny Lyall's claret and blue army.

Send your pictures and stories here

Image source, Getty Images

West Ham boss Graham Potter believes his side took a "step forward" on their tour of the USA and is upbeat on the chances of a "strong season".

The Hammers concluded the Premier League Summer Series in the USA with a 2-0 win over Bournemouth, which resulted in a second-place finish to overall winners Manchester United.

"It's always nice to win," said Potter. "Regardless of the result, we've had a really positive few weeks.

"The team is really connected, and there's a lot of togetherness in the group. We're really happy with the environment, and really happy with the culture at the moment.

"I think we rode our luck a little bit [against Bournemouth], but at the same time, we scored some goals and got better in the second half. So, there's lots to be positive about.

"I think this trip has allowed us to take a step forward in terms of the tactical perspective.

"I think we've had good exposure to the sorts of challenges we're going to face throughout the season, including during the games.

"Training's been good with the players, so I think we've just taken an overall step forward.

"We have to recover now, head home and then get ready to continue our preparations for the new season.

"Every day, we're getting closer to where it all matters. As long as we just focus on the next day and keep improving, I'm really positive we're going to have a strong season."