Do West Ham struggle to attract 'big name' players? Transfer window Q&A published at 14:55 2 June
14:55 2 June
Simon Stone Chief football news reporter
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BBC Sport's football reporters have been taking questions all day, including chief football news reporter Simon Stone.
Andy in Leeds asked: Given the size of our fan base and stadium, being a London club, and having recently won a European trophy, why do West Ham struggle to attract and afford bigger-name players? Is our board to blame for the way it runs things?
Simon answered: Hiya Andy. I am not sure what you mean by 'big names'. West Ham spent a lot of money on Mohammed Kudus, Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta etc. What they can't do is spend lots of money on players who are going to sit on the bench (they have spent a lot on players who ended up sitting on the bench but that is different).
West Ham did win a European trophy and under David Moyes qualified for Europe for three seasons in a row. But that was something they had never done before in their entire history - and in two of their last three seasons, they have finished 14th, which is around where they have tended to finish.
I have always felt there was potential for growth at West Ham - but competition in the Premier League is harder than its ever been. Newcastle and Aston Villa are similar sized clubs but have qualified for the Champions League under relatively new and hugely ambitious owners. West Ham have lost the momentum they had under Moyes. They can get it back under Graham Potter but it takes time.
Will West Ham board pick Potter's transfers? Transfer window Q&Apublished at 11:50 2 June
11:50 2 June
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BBC Sport chief football reporter Simon Stone has been answering your questions on the summer transfer window.
A tired West Ham fan asked: What is your view on the current transfer set up at West Ham? Is Potter in charge or is it the same mess where the board impose their players onto the manager and then fail to get anyone the manager actually wants? P.s. I'm aware we had Steidten in place before but that still didn't seem to stop the above scenario from happening!
Simon answered: Nice easy one to start with... Firstly, Graham Potter has brought Kyle Macaulay in as his head of recruitment. The pair have worked with each other for over a decade, so it seems like a perfectly sensible appointment.
I do understand the criticism of the ownership being involved in recruitment but David Sullivan does run the club, so he is entitled to have an input. There has been a couple of occasions when he tried to step back, when Manuel Pellegrini came in, and had Mario Husillos working with him, and then with Tim Steidten. Neither worked.
The problem with Steidten was that his philosophy differed hugely from that of David Moyes, so the partnership was ineffective. Then, when Moyes left, Steidten made a succession of poor decisions, starting with Julen Lopetegui as Moyes' replacement.
Overall, I think West Ham are in a better position now than they have been for a long time. The problem at the moment is the money from selling Declan Rice has gone so a decision has to be made around the future of Mohammed Kudus.
Signings and sales - your transfer window prioritiespublished at 10:05 31 May
10:05 31 May
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We asked for you to tell us what West Ham need to do in the summer transfer window.
Here are some of your comments:
Andy: We have a soft centre at the moment. We invested heavily in central defenders and midfield players that are slow and not up to the standard required. Esteve from Burnley would be ideal and maybe try to tempt Franck Kessie back to top-level football to add more dynamism in midfield.
Dave: I want us to be like other clubs who unearth stars cheaply then sell them for a profit. We need strengthening all over the park - if that means selling the family silver, apart from the captain, so be it.
Nick: We always have a midfield that overflowed. What we need is a straight-up striker to support Bowen and to invest in defenders!
James: We need young, athletic, and hungry players! A proven number nine is a must, as is a quality goalkeeper. Need more legs in midfield, plus ball-playing centre-backs. In essence, a big rebuild!
Derek: We need pace and legs in the midfield - the game is all about pace all around the pitch now and we have neglected that to the extreme for the past four or five years.
Mark: We surely need to a decent clearout. However, we may end up with 13 players and rely on the young lads coming through. It's certainly not going to be the window of last summer. Hopefully Fullkrug will stay and have a decent season. Kudus, Paqueta and Alvarez are probably on their way out.
Dean: WE NEED A STRIKER! Simple as that. Antonio is undoubtedly a club legend but we cannot rely on him again.
Thank you for your feedbackpublished at 09:14 31 May
09:14 31 May
Thank you for the feedback you submitted on the Premier League club pages.
Our aim is to contain all of the BBC's in-depth coverage of that team in one place, so it is helpful to hear from you - you are who the pages are for after all.
We are going through all your responses and will take suggestions on board for next season.
What needs to happen in the transfer window?published at 12:12 30 May
12:12 30 May
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The transfer window opens on Sunday - albeit for 10 days initially, mainly so sides competing in the Club World Cup can get early business done - before reopening for the rest of the summer on 16 June.
Are there certain players you are desperate for West Ham to sign, or an area of the squad that needs improving? Or maybe holding on to a key player is your biggest priority.
And what about sales - who needs to go?
So over to you... what names need bringing in and shipping out?
What if... the season started in January?published at 11:32 30 May
11:32 30 May
Nicola Pearson BBC Sport journalist
As the dust settles on the 2024-25 Premier League season, we have been taking a look at some of the alternative ways the the table could have finished...
A Premier League season can sometimes be a tale of two halves.
Some come flying out of the blocks, while others are more sluggish starters.
The busy Christmas period can be a turning point with the arrival of the January transfer window feeling like a fresh start.
So what might have happened if the league season only start on 1 January?
Well, Pep Guardiola's title-winning machines would have picked up their fifth Premier League trophy in a row.
Playing one game fewer than actual champions Liverpool - who secured the title with four games remaining - they would have finished one point clear of the Reds, not withstanding Arne Slot's side slowdown in form after sealing the title.
City always seem to come good after January, but this time it was not enough to outweigh the torrid time they had from late autumn.
The rest of the top six is not too dissimilar to the final placings, although in this case, Aston Villa would have secured Champions League football and Brighton a Europa League spot in the absence of Chelsea - whose form nose-dived at the very beginning of the year.
And while the new year is a new start for some, it is less so for others.
That was the case for many of those down the bottom of the league.
The relegated trio would still have been relegated and Manchester United and Tottenham would still have ended up in the bottom six. West Ham find themselves one place lower after Wolves picked up form under Vitor Pereira.
So what does this tell us? If you wan to achieve your Premier League ambitions, it is about making sure you are there for nine months and not just from January.
When will the 2025-26 Premier League fixtures be released? published at 08:21 29 May
08:21 29 May
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The BBC's Ask Me Anything team have done all of the research ahead of the announcement detailing next season's Premier League matches.
The fixtures for the 2025-26 season will be released at 09:00 BST on Wednesday,18 June 2025 and the release will include the weekly schedule of all 380 matches.
The season will begin with a single fixture played on Friday, 15 August 2025 and conclude on Sunday, 24 May 2026, when all matches will be played at 16:00 BST. There will be 33 weekend rounds of fixtures, plus five midweek rounds.
The exact date and time at which individual matches are played during each weekend will be determined at regular intervals throughout the season, based on TV selections made by broadcasters.
How will this season be remembered?published at 14:24 28 May
14:24 28 May
Simon Stone Chief football news reporter
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Regression. Stagnation. Depression. General underachievement.
Take your pick.
It is a bit weird to point out that the Hammers ended up finishing in exactly the same spot as they did two seasons ago when they won the Europa Conference League.
It is the reality but it only happened because West Ham won two of their past three games to finish top of the little four-team mini-league that were - just - too good to go down but absolutely miles off competing for any form of European qualification.
It absolutely was not supposed to be like this when David Moyes departed after three successive European campaigns.
New manager Julen Lopetegui and Tim Steidten as technical director were supposed to usher in a new world for the east London outfit. Both were gone by the beginning of February.
Many of the new arrivals did not work and neither did Graham Potter for a long period.
Wins over Manchester United and Ipswich put a positive gloss on a season to forget at the London Stadium.
The players who run and run...published at 12:34 28 May
12:34 28 May
Chris Collinson BBC Sport statistician
Newcastle's Bruno Guimaraes covered the most ground this season, running 261 miles (St James' Park to Wembley is 271 miles).
He retains the award after racking up 263 miles in the competition last season.
Josko Gvardiol, Daniel Munoz, Bryan Mbeumo and Milos Kerkez complete the top five for most distance covered across the Premier League season.
Taking time on the pitch into account (out of players that played over half the available minutes), Guimaraes was pipped by Newcastle team-mate in the list by team-mate Sandro Tonali who covered more ground per 90 minutes than the Brazilian…although Bruno still ran 7.2 miles per 90 minutes!
Tottenham's Dejan Kulusevski ran harder than any other player this season, covering 7.7 miles per 90 minutes on average.
West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek ran an average of 7.5 miles per 90 minutes, while Manchester City's Bernardo Silva (7.3) and Brighton's Yasin Ayari complete the top five.
Which teams put a shift in this season?published at 08:03 28 May
08:03 28 May
Chris Collinson BBC Sport statistician
Bournemouth and Tottenham were the most physical teams in the Premier League this season when considering the distance they covered and the number of sprints performed.
The results might explain why they had a lot of injuries.
Newcastle and Brighton were not too far behind though, with Brighton actually covering the most ground in the league, with fewer sprints.
Chelsea and Liverpool's style of play saw them sprint a lot but not cover a lot of ground, while Manchester City and Arsenal were the opposite (ran a lot but didn't sprint a lot).
Nottingham Forest very much had their own style of play this season as they both ran and sprinted the least.
Fan scorecard: Unsung hero? Ideal signing?published at 09:54 27 May
09:54 27 May
James Jones Fan writer
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Season rating: 4/10 - and that is probably being generous. Wins at Crystal Palace,Newcastle,Arsenal and Manchester United were arguably our highlights, but aside from those wins, there wasn't a great deal to shout about as the post-David Moyes era left us all desperately wanting the season to end by Christmas.
Happy with your manager? Julen Lopetegui was a failure and Graham Potter inherited half a Moyes squad in decline and half a Lopetegui squad struggling desperately for consistency and form. Potter hasn't pulled up any trees yet but he has improved us in key areas, securing away wins at Emirates Stadium and Old Trafford along the way. The proof will be in what he can do with his own squad of players.
Unsung hero: Max Kilman. His £40m fee raised eyebrows but he has barely put a foot wrong all season, while being the only West Ham player to feature in every Premier League game this season. The team's early form under Lopetegui, especially defensively, led to Kilman becoming something of a scapegoat at times, but in truth it wasn't his fault the defence was always left so exposed by haphazard tactics. He was much improved under Potter in the second half of the season. Shoutout to Tomas Soucek, too. How any West Ham fan wants to see him sold this summer is beyond me.
Player you would most like to sign: Once again, we go into a summer transfer window desperately needing to sign a striker. I would love us to sign Liam Delap but think he will end up at a club playing in Europe. Lazio's Valentin Castellanos looks an interesting prospect, too. It is likely, though, that we will be linked with about 50 strikers and will kick off the first game of next season with Michail Antonio leading the line. Again.
Right now, my overriding emotion from the season is: Apathy. After the success under Moyes, there was an element of excitement heading into this season, especially after almost £150m was spent on the squad last summer. But the campaign has been so disappointing that it is difficult to be anything other than apathetic towards the club and what the immediate future holds.
'A joyless season for the Hammers'published at 09:48 27 May
09:48 27 May
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Here's my quick assessment of West Ham's Premier League season - and a return to my August predictions.
Ended the season: 14th
Pre-season prediction: 8th
A joyless season for the Hammers, who had high expectations following Julen Lopetegui's arrival. It proved an ill-fated appointment. He was sacked after only six months in charge, while Graham Potter has been unable to engineer any significant improvement.
Potter can only really be judged once he has put his own stamp on the squad, with Jarrod Bowen the player he will build around, but there is no escaping this has been a desperate campaign.
What I said in August: "Lopetegui has replaced David Moyes, whose full worth to West Ham United may yet become clear in the months ahead, and not just because he won the Conference League."
Bowen's 'perfect response' to England snubpublished at 12:37 26 May
12:37 26 May
Sam Ashoo Final Score reporter
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Considering neither of these two sides had anything to play for, I thought it was a really good game at Portman Road.
The stand-out man was quite clearly Jarrod Bowen, who capped off his season with a goal and an assist. Bowen, who formed a front two alongside Niclas Füllkrug, often dropped into the number-10 role, floating in and around the edge of the area. That is a position that seems to suit him more as he gets older.
His assist, as highlighted by Micah Richards on Match of the Day, demonstrated both intelligence and selflessness, while his second-half strike served as yet another reminder that his left foot firmly belongs in the 'wand' category.
It means that Bowen finishes the season on 13 goals and eight assists, an impressive tally considering West Ham's poor season.
He may have missed out on an England call-up last week, but Sunday's performance was the perfect response.
Thomas Tuchel may well be regretting his decision.
'Better than the relegated teams - and not many others'published at 09:30 26 May
09:30 26 May
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We asked for your views on West Ham's season after closing out with victory at Ipswich Town on Sunday.
Here are some of your comments:
Stephen: The Hammers' season was a result of poor investment in players over the past five years. They made a wrong decision on the first manager who had no intention of looking at the academy players. I also think David Moyes didn't use the academy enough - he stuck to his favourites and then they went stale. Need to give Graham Potter time to assess the squad and have a transfer window.
Tom: This game defined our season. We have been better than the relegated teams and not many others. We seemed to play well though, so I am glad we ended the season on a high. The summer transfer window cannot come quickly enough, and I'm very happy that Freddie Potts, Callum Marshall and George Earthy are coming back to the club
Ian: A decent win against an already relegated side. Big rebuilding in the summer to ensure no repeat of this season. Need to keep Mohammed Kudus and sign hungrier and younger players for next season. Then we can talk about regaining European football. It's up to Potter to make sure this happens.
Bubba: The game? Dire. The season? Dire. The parade of mediocre managers this year? Dire. The decision to get rid of our most winning manager in modern times? Dire. We are a dire team. No top player or manager wants to be associated with direness, given a choice. Our future? Dire. This is a deep-rooted malaise, not something that a few good transfers over the summer will resolve.
Harry: Just happy we finished above Spurs and Manchester United. Happy we got a decent win, but I am very concerned that Kudus didn't even bother to celebrate his screamer. Was that goodbye? I hope not.
Hayley: Wrong manager at the start of the season, Potter was brought in when it looked like we couldn't go down, so I feel he has been playing with the team, looking at a lot of the players we have. I feel next year will be a good season. Bring in a few new players early, have a full pre-season and come back with a good start, which breeds confidence. Potter is a good manager - let's get behind him next year.
Brendan: OK, nice result. But if West Ham lose Kudus and maybe Jarrod Bowen, and possibly a few others (rich pickings for other clubs), it's hard to see a way out of the mess.
'I will never hide' - Bowenpublished at 22:49 25 May
22:49 25 May
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West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen and goalscorer, speaking to BBC Radio London about his future after the final day win at Ipswich: "You score a couple of goals, transfer window comes around the corner and people are interested in you.
"I have been linked a few times in different transfer windows when I have had good seasons. I have been here for five, five and a half years now and I have got good numbers in goals and assists so I think that is always going to come.
"But we are sitting here at a club where we have won a European trophy, we have finished in high places, had a Europa League semi-final, so we have had a lot of success as well since I have been here. We have had a blip this season and when we won the Conference League I think we finished lower as well, but no-one remembers that because we won the trophy as well.
"This is the first season where we have had no Europe and we have been really poor in the league position, so talk is going to happen. But for me, unless the club turned around and said they were selling me then I won't be going anywhere."
On being the captain and seeing what he can do next season: "Having the role of captain this year is a different responsibility and people look at you in a different light.
"When a season is not going as well the questions are on you and as a captain you have to accept that responsibility. You have to turn up every week, week in and week out, speak to the fans and speak to the media and not hide away from it.
"That is something I pride myself in, that I will never hide. In my performances, I will always try to leave everything out there.
"That has been my mindset this year with being captain."
