West Ham United

Image source, Wolves via Getty Images

We asked for your views on Wolves' 3-1 win over West Ham during both sides' tour of the United States.

Here are some of your comments:

Wolves fans

Matt: Great to get one over Lopetegui. We looked pretty sharp overall. Pedro Lima and Rodrigo Gomes an instant hit with the fans, just hope Matheus Cunha's injury isn't anything too serious.

Simon: They looked very sharp at times and our new signings did very well. Excited to see what Rodrigo Gomes and Jorgen Strand Larsen can do when the season kicks off. If we can shore up central defence, this could be a good season for us.

Craig: Very encouraging - yes it's only a friendly but after watching all of Wolves' friendlies last pre-season when everyone was writing us off, it was clear we had a good team and were going to be fine. I think the signs are very similar again this season.

West Ham fans

Faith: We're looking a little more attack-minded compared to last season, and we've still a few players to come back, so hopefully we start playing some better football. However, the defensive mistakes from last season still seem to be lingering. We simply can't have the same number of goals conceded as we did last year. Really needs sorting out.

Jon: I don't think it's worth worrying too much on the performances in friendlies, but we were far too slow. We've been left with an ageing squad from last season and we are in serious need of new transfers and squad depth soon; energy and pace is desperately needed.

Dave: Pre-season results are no indication of the season to come.

West Ham are willing to meet AS Monaco's 35m euros (£29.5m) price tag for 25-year old French midfielder Youssouf Fofana. (L'Equipe - in French), external

West Ham have opened negotiations over a deal for English right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Manchester United, who value the 26-year-old in excess of £15m. (Sky Sports), external

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

Image source, Getty Images

New West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui's side suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of former club Wolves in their pre-season friendly in Jacksonville, Florida.

In a match that was delayed by just over two hours because of stormy weather, Matheus Cunha put Wolves in front before having to go off injured.

Mohammed Kudus equalised for the Hammers just before half-time, but two goals from Rodrigo Gomes after the break gave Wolves the win.

"He [Cunha] felt a slight pain behind his knee," said Wolves manager Gary O'Neil.

"It's disappointing. With the game being delayed and the wet pitch, they work so hard and are finely tuned, so it doesn't take much to throw them.

"Matheus is incredibly important to us, but the early signs don't look bad. He won't be risked again until he's completely fine, so the next few days I can provide an update."

Lopetgui has replaced David Moyes as West Ham boss, and said the Hammers "have to improve in a lot of things with and without the ball".

He added: "We have a lot of work to do in front of us."

Despite a delayed kick-off due to tropical storms, it was Wolves who came out 3-1 winners over West Ham in the inaugural Stateside Cup tie.

Forward Matheus Cunha put Wolves ahead after 18 minutes, before Mohammed Kudus levelled for the Hammers just before the break.

Two second half goals from substitute Rodrigo Gomes fired Gary O'Neil's side in front and they saw the game out to take the win.

It was a taste of Premier League football for this match in Florida, but what did you learn from the performances?

Wolves fans, let us know your thoughts, external

What did you make of it, Hammers fans?, external

David Lockwood
BBC Sport Editorial Sustainability Lead

Image source, Getty Images

Los Angeles or Chesterfield? San Diego or Salford?

The pre-season destinations of 20 Premier League clubs may be varied, but the issue remains the same - the impact of so many flights.

Half (10) of the clubs have flown to the United States for friendlies; three have travelled to the Far East and the rest are in Europe and the UK.

Manchester United's pre-season schedule see them flying almost 13,000 miles playing fixtures in Norway, Scotland, and across the US. Chelsea and Tottenham are also expected to fly in excess of 12,000 miles.

In contrast, Everton will fly the least, with just one fixture outside the UK in the Republic of Ireland.

Spurs and Newcastle also played an exhibition fixture in May - three days after the season finished - for which they both flew to Melbourne, Australia, a game Alan Shearer described as “madness”. Add in those air miles and both teams will have travelled in excess of 30,000 air miles in the close-season, equivalent to more than once around the globe, to play in non-competitive matches.

Newcastle and Spurs both have a target to be Net Zero by 2030, while Manchester United and Chelsea are in process of establishing an emissions reduction plan.

Net Zero requires the reduction and removal of all 'non-essential emissions' - so are these games essential?

Wycombe's David Wheeler is a leading sustainability campaigner in football and told BBC Sport: "These games are only necessary in the sense that the clubs want to make more money and grow their fan base".

He added: "The vast majority of players don't want to be away from their families, they don't want to be travelling around the world after a full slog of a season. They're overworked and injuries have gone through the roof, so there is a synergy between player welfare and planetary welfare."

An estimated travelling group of 30 flying 12,864 air miles business class generates around 200 tonnes of CO2 - the equivalent of 500,000 miles driven by an average petrol car, or the entire annual emissions for a year of 16 people in the UK.

Tottenham said it is "committed to minimising its environmental impact" in all its operations, "which will take time and effort". The club says it "ensures" all teams travel "as sustainably as possible throughout the season". It "measures, manages and reports on travel emissions" and will offsets "where possible."

Read more about the Premier League's pre-season air miles here

West Ham are considering an improved offer for Jhon Duran, with Aston Villa holding out for £40m for the 20-year-old Colombia striker. (Standard), external

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

We asked for your views on the news that West Ham were set to sign Bayern Munich full-back Noussair Mazraoui.

Here are some of your comments:

Jay: I think this is a fantastic signing! With Coufal getting a little older this is a great piece of business. He’s a good player and he's more than confident to get a motion moving.

Joe: After losing Ben Johnson it's good West Ham are looking at quality competition for Coufal.

Terry: By all accounts he does not stay fit for a long period of time. So it looks like we've bought another 'sicknote'.

Jamie: I love the fact that we are competing with Manchester United for signings nowadays and winning the contracts. We’ve come a long way Hammers!

Adam: Good pedigree, still young, plays in a position where we need reinforcements, and the fee seems reasonable by today's standards. He's played in some very good teams and shone on big stages. Potentially the backlash to his stance on Israel-Palestine made his time at Bayern less than comfortable, which may be why he's available relatively cheap.

Justin: A veritable bargain in today’s market. looks to be on par with Mavropanos at this point. Obviously younger and possibly more skilled on the ball, my view is based on fleeting glimpses of his club appearances and are not in any way expert. However a signing from bigger club because we can and not because they are well past their best is positive.

Manchester United defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka has rejected advances from West Ham and would prefer a move to Inter Milan this summer. (Talksport), external

Brentford's plans to let West Ham and Tottenham target Ivan Toney leave the club could be shelved after the 28-year-old England forward's replacement Igor Thiago suffered an injury in pre-season. (Sun), external

West Ham have made a £30m bid and offered 18-year-old midfielder Lewis Orford in a move to sign Aston Villa and Colombia striker Jhon Duran, 20. (Athletic - subscription required), external

Nottingham Forest have rejected a West Ham bid for 23-year-old Wales full-back Neco Williams. (HITC), external

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

Image source, Getty Images

West Ham have agreed a fee with Bayern Munich for Moroccan full-back Noussair Mazraoui.

Sources say if the deal goes through, the Hammers will play an initial €16m (£13.47m) for the 26-year-old, with a potential further €3.5m (£2.95m) in add-ons.

Talks over personal terms are continuing for a player who has been linked with a number of clubs this summer, including Manchester United.

Mazraoui was born in the Netherlands and joined Ajax as a youngster.

He joined Bayern on a free transfer in 2022 and made 29 appearances for the Bundesliga giants in all competitions last season.

Is it a good signing West Ham fans? Is he worth the fee?

Let us know your thoughts here, external

Leicester City are rivalling West Ham for Arsenal's 24-year-old winger Reiss Nelson. (Times - subscription required), external

Manchester United must wait to sell Aaron Wan-Bissaka before recruiting a replacement full-back, with West Ham interested in the defender, 26. (Manchester Evening News), external

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

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

Image source, Getty Images

It isn't quiet in one specific part of the major football clubs - the acquisitions department.

I know that because I was once the acquisitions department - well me and the manager mostly. While each player returned from holidays like a bronzed Adonis, we were cooped up in a small darkened room, beavering the daylight hours away like vampires.

There is plenty of guesswork in the media and a fair bit of leaking from the players and their people, but the clubs usually try to keep their transfer moves as quiet as possible.

If word gets out that a player is available, they know they might lose him to another club or else the price will increase as a bidding war erupts.

‌These are high stakes games and many are impressed by those who gamble and go early.

Manchester City have always been good enough, and let's be honest wealthy enough, to be able to do this well.

The problem is that some clubs are trying to do the same thing and are ending up paying top dollar for less able players, because they haven't done their due diligence in the market.

This is another area where the use of data, or maybe over-reliance on pure data, comes into play - feed all of the numbers in, let the technology do the crunching, and out comes the answer.

The problem is that everyone else has got the same or similar data.

What is needed, of course, is good human knowledge and the vision to aid the use of the information they have got. This is why these departments should be busy just now, they shouldn't just be doing deals which are admittedly very complex legal and financial documents these days.

Even more time should be spent on ensuring the new £75m player hasn't got a hidden weakness in his game or even the odd skeleton in his closet.

Pat Nevin was writing for the BBC Football Extra Newsletter

Manchester United and West Ham are in competition to sign Morocco right-back Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich, who want about £19m for the 26-year-old. (Sky Sports Germany), external

West Ham could pursue a deal for Manchester United's 26-year-old English right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka if Mazraoui moves to Old Trafford. (Sky Sports), external

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

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Image source, PA Media

Every day it seems there are new rumours about players who might be joining West Ham.

England defender Fikayo Tomori, who is currently at AC Milan, Leeds' Crysencio Summerville and Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran are the latest.

West Ham are in the uncomfortable position of having money to spend and their priorities - forwards and central defence - being obvious.

Technical director Tim Steidten is busily working his way though the targets to see what deals can be done. Inevitably that means a lot of calls - and a lot of links.

West Ham's non-Euros and Copa America players have flown into Florida for the start of a two-week camp that includes games against Crystal Palace and Wolves.

Meanwhile the rumours will continue until a deal is done.

West Ham United are interested in a move for AC Milan's 26-year-old England defender Fikayo Tomori. (Mail), external

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

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your views after West Ham's 1-0 friendly win at Dagenham & Redbridge.

Here are some of your responses:

Harry: We dominated and maybe should have scored more, but overall I'm happy with how we played. Great strike by Andy Irving. Maybe he might get a place in the team under Julen Lopetegui.

Justin: Promising in parts but very hard to predict without a full complement of players because the backline will probably be different and we still need a striker. Let's be positive and look forward to the season ahead.

Sue: I thought they should have won by more than one goal considering the opposition is way below West Ham. I hope when they get the whole team back together they play better.

Ruaidhri: We never care in these pre-seasons but 1-0 is crazy while Southampton beat Eastleigh 7-1. The players don't want to prove themselves.

Lee: Just another leg-stretcher. Until the full squad gets back, we cannot tell what the set-up will be.

West Ham have a verbal agreement to sign France midfielder N'Golo Kante, 33, from Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad. (Athletic - subscription required), external

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

Image source, Getty Images

Andy Irving's fine strike from outside the box was enough to earn West Ham a 1-0 win at National League side Dagenham in their opening pre-season game.

What did you learn from Julen Lopetegui's first match in the Hammers dugout?

Let us know your thoughts, external

Newcastle United are hoping to beat West Ham and Juventus to the signing of France defender Jean-Clair Todibo, 24, after holding talks with Nice. (HITC), external

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

Image source, Getty Images

American golfer Billy Horschel has been speaking about his beloved West Ham in the aftermath of his second round at The Open.

Horschel is in the mix as the tournament nears the halfway mark and was seen sporting the West Ham crest on his bag at Royal Troon.

"Whenever I try to come over here I try to get the West Ham bag out. Up the Hammers and come on you Irons," Horschel told media.

"Other supporters of other clubs have been gracious enough to be nice to me compared to how they may be to a fellow English person supporting West Ham."

Asked about new manager Julen Lopetegui, Horschel replied: "I think Julen is going to do a good job. I'm excited listening. David Moyes was awesome. He took the club from one spot to another and it was time to pass the torch. I think Julen will do a good job and I think David has something up his sleeve for the next couple of years - I think maybe the Scotland national job will be his."

And on links in the morning newspapers with former Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante, Horschel remarked: "I saw that this morning. $20m (£15m) for a 33-year-old, I don't think that's really good business so I don't think that's going to happen."

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Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

It seems inevitable a host of Premier League managers will point to fixture congestion in the months to come.

When injuries mount, or when time on the training ground is squeezed, coaches often reference the intense nature of the calendar.

But research conducted by the respected CIES Football Observatory has delivered data which shows clubs are - on average - not playing more competitive games than they have in the last couple of decades.

The CIES looked at 677 clubs across 40 leagues. In looking at a period from 2012 to 2024, its findings show in 2023-24, the average club played 42.4 competitive matches. In 2014-15 that figure was 42.6 and in 2020-21 it hit 43.9.

And if focus is placed on sides competing in the Champions League, data gathered between 2000 and 2024 also shows sides are not setting fixture records in the current game, as some managers may like to loosely imply.

In looking at the five major European Leagues, the CIES claim Champions League competitors played an average of 50.8 matches last season.

In 2020-21 they averaged 57.9 and in 2002-03 they contested 55.2.

Manchester United played in 52 competitive games last season, down from highs of 71 in 2020-21 and 66 in 2008-09.

Across all of the clubs analysed, only 4% played more than 60 games last season. In 2012-13, the figure stood at 5.1%.

While clubs may play added friendlies and - it would be fair to say - individual matches tend to be longer given increased injury time in the current game, the data shows that competitive fixture numbers are flat or have in most cases fallen, even if disgruntled managers say otherwise.

The full study is here, external