West Ham United

Noel Sliney
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

A transitional summer for West Ham has been more notable to date for the players who have left.

Stalwarts Lukasz Fabianski, Aaron Cresswell and Vladimir Coufal have all been released, with Michail Antonio potentially joining them when his contract expires on Monday. With 1,088 West Ham appearances between them, they leave a sizeable void to fill.

Danny Ings and Kurt Zouma have also departed as West Ham seek to overhaul an ageing squad. The average age of their Premier League starting XI last season was 28.8 years old, the joint oldest in the division along with Everton.

West Ham's solitary signing during the off-season has been French central defender Jean-Clair Todibo, who made 20 Premier League starts on loan from Nice in 2024-25 as the Hammers finished 14th.

The priority for head coach Graham Potter will surely be a striker, regardless of whether or not Antonio stays. Niclas Fullkrug only made six league starts and scored three goals last season, while Evan Ferguson's loan spell from Brighton did not work out.

The extent of West Ham's rebuild will also be shaped by the futures of two of their most valuable players: Lucas Paqueta and Mohammed Kudus.

Paqueta is awaiting the verdict of his recent spot-fixing trial and faces a possible lifetime ban if found guilty, while selling Kudus could be the club's most effective way of raising funds to reshape the squad.

West Ham are battling Wolves to sign £25m-rated Nice and Ivory Coast striker Evann Guessand, 23. (Mail), external

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Everton, Brentford and Fulham are considering a move for Ipswich's 21-year-old England Under-21s winger Omari Hutchinson. (Mail), external

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Ex-West Ham striker Bobby Zamora has revealed the way Carlos Tevez was welcomed into the Hammers dressing room after his shock move at the start of the 2006-07 season.

"We had a really funny bunch of lads at West Ham, the majority were young English guys, so all on the same wavelength, all on the same banter," said Zamora.

"It was a very, very funny place.

"I remember, day one, Carlos coming in with his crazy hair. He had mad, mad hair and him not understanding a word of English, banter was flying with all of the lads.

"All the lads were like: 'Mate, your hair is horrendous, like, what? You are gonna have to get this sorted out'. He obviously had no idea, smiling away. That was a bit of an introduction for him to the changing room!"

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Speaking on a special Football Daily podcast about Tevez's legacy, Zamora reflected on how he spearheaded West Ham's remarkable escape from relegation, including the winner at Manchester United on the final day.

"The great escape was memorable," Zamora said. "Going down to the last game of the season of course, which was Manchester United away. To come away with a win there - and obviously Carlos scoring. I'm claiming an assist on that.

"Carlos is certainly up there with the greatest South American strikers for sure."

Tevez's final day goal was controversial given the signings of both he and Mascherano had breached third-party ownership rules, leading to the threat of a points deduction as punishment.

However, the Premier League stopped short of this measure, fining the club £5.5m, but the Hammers had to pay relegated Sheffield United £20m after a tribunal process.

"Obviously, towards the back end of the season there was talk of court cases and point deductions," added Zamora.

"There was obviously the paper talk about what could happen, but we had no idea really."

Listen to the full podcast here

Chelsea have held further talks with West Ham about Ghana midfielder Mohammed Kudus, 24, but are prioritising a move for Borussia Dortmund's 20-year-old English winger Jamie Gittens. (Guardian), external

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Following the release of the 2025-26 Premier League fixtures, we asked for your thoughts on the schedule and where West Ham might be after 10 games.

Here are some of your comments:

Colin: Sixteenth. Very concerned that David Sullivan and Karen Brady need to spend in the window, and they don't seem to be doing anything.

Dave: I suspect that unless this useless board invests well in new players we will be sitting in the bottom three. We need a new good spine to the team starting with a new keeper (either Burnley's, Southampton's, or both), centre-back, central midfielder and a centre-forward. We won't ever win the league title so we need to stop putting out under-strength teams in cup games and try to win some trophies. For us to move forward, there needs to be major changes within the board.

Conrad: Looking at them, 12-15 points hopefully.

John: Hopefully in the top 10. Graham Potter can do this by buying players who can bang in the goals and a goalkeeper who can keep them out. Must improve after finishing 14th last season.

Jason: After 10 games, I believe we will have a total of 10 points because as of yet haven't seen an improvement within the team.

Tyler: We have a really decent mix of games to start the season off with. With the right signings we could be seventh to 10th by Christmas.

Tony: I worry at the moment. No transfer activity of note and the current squad looks weak. Still hoping for a mid-table finish and a good cup run.

Graham: About fifth - if we are lucky.

Opta has ranked the difficulty of each top-flight team's first five Premier League fixtures of the 2025-26 season.

According to Opta's model, Manchester United have the hardest start, followed by their opening-weekend opponents Arsenal and then Bournemouth.

Aston Villa's first five games have been ranked the easiest, alongside Crystal Palace.

Take a look below to see where your side places...

Aside from the opening weekend's game against Sunderland and the final fixture of the season against Leeds United, all dates are subject to change as a result of broadcast and other requirements.

See West Ham's full fixture list here

Image source, Getty Images

West Ham's first derby of the 2025-26 Premier League season will be at London Stadium against Chelsea on the weekend of 23-24 August.

Graham Potter's side will then travel to Stamford Bridge at the end of January.

The Hammers will face 2024-25 runners-up Arsenal at the beginning of October while their two games against Tottenham are scheduled for the weekends of 13-14 September and 17-18 January.

Potter and his squad will also have their eyes on the end of November and February - the two dates they are due to face defending champions Liverpool.

And what about the schedule over Christmas and New Year? Well, West Ham travel to Manchester City on the weekend of 20 December before hosting Fulham in a London derby on Boxing day. Their final game of the year will be against Brighton and they then travel to Wolves for their first fixture of 2026.

Finally, the Irons will close their campaign against Leeds United on Sunday, 24 May 2026 - when all 10 matches will kick off at 16:00 BST.

Looking at the fixture list, where do you think Potter's side will be after 10 games? Have your say here

West Ham will travel to newly promoted Sunderland in their opening game of the 2025-26 Premier League season.

The match will take place at 15:00 BST on Saturday, 16 August, with the Hammers' first home fixture against London rivals Chelsea on the weekend of 23-24 August.

See West Ham's Premier League fixtures in full here

Where do you think Graham Potter's side will be after 10 games and what do you make of how the fixtures have fallen? Tell us here

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With the transfer window now open again until 1 September, we asked you to tell us one player you want West Ham to sign, and a player you want to be sold this summer.

Here are some of your comments:

Max: For a purchase, Christian Norgaard from Brentford would be a mass improvement on our lethargic midfield. As for a sale, it would all depend. If we receive an offer worth £70m+ for Kudus, then I would definitely accept it. If not, then probably Guido Rodriguez or Edson Alvarez to free up some space.

Bob: We have got to get a striker, preferably Jhon Duran. I don't know why we still have Mavropanos, he has never done us any good!

Dave: I recall Nayef Aguerd played about six good-enough games after he came in and he has not been selected since so should go. Alphonso Davies seems to be in third preference at Bayern on the left of midfield, we should tempt him with more game time.

Daryl: I would sell Rodriguez, Mavrapanos and (reluctantly) Kudus. Buy? A striker! Maybe go for Brobbey again. Or loan one of Chelsea's dozen forwards.

James: I would go for a new keeper. Slightly left field choice but Kepa. If he went to Arsenal he would be back-up to Raya but at West Ham has a strong claim to be number one. I would sell Kudus if the right offer comes in, purely because it affords greater financial wiggle room in terms of recruitment.

Mark: Paqueta out. Cash in on what is possible and reinvest in Jhon Duran.

Nick: I would sell Nayef Aguerd. He had a successful loan spell out at Real Sociedad last season so we could get a good fee for him and he wants to leave so we should cash in. We should sign another centre back to replace him, someone who can challenge Kilman, Todibo and Mavropanos for a starting place. I would like us to sign Koni de Winter (a Belgian centre back who plays for Genoa).

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West Ham United will host French club Lille at the London Stadium for the final match of their pre-season.

The Hammers will complete preparations for the 2025-26 season by taking on the four-time Ligue 1 champions on Saturday 9 August.

Graham Potter will take his squad to the US for the Premier League Summer Series in July, where they will face Bournemouth, Manchester United and Everton.

"We're really looking forward to facing Lille," said West Ham boss Potter.

"Our pre-season schedule is geared to building the players up so that they are in the best possible condition when the Premier League gets underway on Saturday 16 August, and a fixture against high-quality European opposition a week beforehand is part of doing that."

West Ham United's pre-season fixtures:

Grasshoppers (19 July)

Manchester United (27 July)

Everton (30 July)

Bournemouth (3 August)

Lille (9 August)

No sooner does the season finish and we start looking forward to key dates for the next campaign - and that will be a lot easier to do on Wednesday when the Premier League fixtures are released.

That's right, that special day in the calendar is almost here already. The day when you'll learn details of derby fixtures, Christmas opponents and end-of-season run-ins.

This page will bring you all the fixtures when they drop at 09:00 BST on Wednesday and we'll be giving you the chance to have your say on how things look.

The new campaign kicks off on the weekend of Saturday, 16 August and it will conclude on Sunday, 24 May 2026, when all 10 games will take place at the same time.

The transfer window is open again for summer business to be conducted.

Clubs can now strike deals until the deadline at 19:00 BST on 1 September.

So if you can sell one player, who is it? And if you can buy one player only, who gets the nod?

Give us reasons for your choice but remember, in this instance it's a strict one player leaving and one coming in.

Send your selections here

West Ham and Brentford are both interested in Rangers and Morocco striker Hamza Igamane, 22, after he scored 16 goals in the Scottish Premiership last season. (Foot Mercato - in French), external

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Manchester United hold bragging rights as the most popular Premier League club across social platforms, according to CIES Football Observatory., external

Ranking third overall behind Real Madrid and Barcelona, Manchester United total 233.6 million subscribers and followers across X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube.

Rivals Manchester City are second highest out of Premier League clubs and fifth overall with 179.5m, with Liverpool (166.7m) and Chelsea (152.9m) just behind.

Arsenal also make the global top 10 with 114.1m, meaning there are five English teams inside the top 10.

Spurs just miss out in 11th with 108.1m, but they did gain an extra 700,000 followers over their North London rivals since June 2024.

A total of 15 English clubs make the top 100, with Leeds United squeezing into the 100th spot with 6.4m.

While fans may not sing about social media followers, global interest has a hand in paying the bills at their beloved football clubs.

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We asked for your views on whether West Ham need to act urgently in the transfer market, as the first of the two deadline days this summer comes to a close on Tuesday.

Here are some of your comments:

James: Not expecting anything overly dramatic but feel at some point Mohammed Kudus and or Lucas Paqueta will go. Goalkeeper and centre-forward would be ideal positions to strengthen.

Ian: I can't see any movement in and would be very surprised if anyone left for a fee before Tuesday. The club are blaming PSR and say they need money before they spend. So can't really see any movement in this part of the window.

Marshy: No need to panic, but we need to improve the squad. Senior players that have left need replacing. A goalkeeper, playmaker and striker. Kudus can go but for the right price. We've gone back to being a selling club. Potter needs to address this.

Mick: That we didn't try for Caoimhin Kelleher was disappointing and he went for a bargain price. Now Harvey Elliott could be available, we need players like him with that energy. Go get him! Whatever West Ham need to do, do the business early and not late on. I'm not optimistic for the coming season. Nothing to do with Graham Potter - just the malaise at the club.

Jerry: Don't expect anything in this window. Same as usual - loads of speculation and no action. Wasted. £150m+ last season and now we're broke! Something massively wrong with the club now. Very disheartening for all us fans of a once great club.

Today is the first of two transfer deadline days this summer as the window shuts for seven days before reopening on 16 June.

In a change to the summer transfer window norm, it opened early to allow clubs involved in the Fifa Club World Cup 10 days to sign players for inclusion in the competition.

Whether it turns out to be a day of transfer action or a pretty quiet one for your club, you will be able to keep across it all on BBC Sport.

Follow our live text coverage throughout the day here

And keep up to date with all the latest news, views and transfers for your club

Newcastle United are keen on signing 24-year-old West Ham United winger Mohammed Kudus, after missing out on Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo. (Football Insider), external

But the Hammers are considering a swap deal with Chelsea involving Ghana international Kudus, while they are also prepared to let centre-back Nayef Aguerd leave this summer for £25m. (Teamtalk), external

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

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West Ham have confirmed that defender Kurt Zouma will leave the club at the end of his contract on 30 June.

The 30-year-old joins Aaron Cresswell, Lukasz Fabianski, Vladimir Coufal and Danny Ings who had previously been confirmed to be leaving at the end of the month when their deals expire.

France international Zouma, who is currently on loan at Al-Orobah FC in the Saudi Pro League, will leave the club after four years, having made 103 appearances, scored six goals, won the Uefa Conference League and captained the side during the 2023-24 campaign.

The Hammers have also said that forward Michail Antonio will also become a free agent from 30 June.

However, they have also said there has been "no formal decision" on his future.

In a statement on their retained list, external, the club said: "Given Michail Antonio's unique situation, following his serious road traffic accident in December 2024, there will be no formal decision and announcement on his future until such time that it is considered right and appropriate.

"However, as his current contract is also due to expire on 30 June, for the purposes of the Premier League retained list procedure at the end of the 2024-25 season, Michail will be listed as a free transfer.

"As a long-serving, highly-respected player, and a much-loved member of the West Ham family, the club's absolute priority at this time is to support Michail personally in his journey to resume playing at the highest level."