Aston Villa will be licking their lips about facing West Ham but it’s a problem shared

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West Ham are widely regarded to have ‘won the summer transfer window’ but Aston Villa will be licking their lips about facing them.

West Ham and Aston Villa have been two of the busiest sides in Europe when it comes to making signings.

But while the Hammers have added eight quality signings and kept their top stars, Aston Villa have been forced to sell some of theirs to bring in new faces.

West Ham supporters, rival fans, pundits and journalists have been lauding West Ham’s business. And many feel it is the best window business in the club’s history.

But Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has been just as busy as his fellow Basque, Julen Lopetegui.

West Ham have signed Max Kilman, Niclas Fullkrug, Crysencio Summerville, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Jean-Clair Tidobo, Guido Rodríguez, Luis Guilherme and Wes Foderingham.

The Irons have also – just as importantly – retained new captain Jarrod Bowen, Brazilian Lucas Paqueta, star boy Mohammed Kudus, key midfield destroyer Edson Alvarez and the man who is officially statistically the Premier League’s best goalkeeper, Alphonse Areola.

Believe it or not, Aston Villa have been even more active in the transfer market than West Ham as they embark on a campaign of Champions League football.

Ian Maatsen, Amadou Onana, Ross Barkley, Enzo Barrenechea, Lewis Dobbin, Samuel Iling-Junior and Omar Khedr have been signed while Villa exercised buy-back options on Jaden Philogene and Cameron Archer too.

Emery has lost key duo Douglas Luiz and Moussa Diaby to free up funds for those transfers, though.

Villa will be licking their lips about facing West Ham

Despite Tim Steidten and Lopetegui putting together a near 10/10 window, Villa will be licking their lips about facing West Ham.

But the issues are very much mirrored.

They say you can never read too much into pre-season performances and results.

Well West Ham fans will be praying that is the case.

Because the team has looked absolutely woeful at the back.

The defending on display from the Hammers has been like Keystone Cops at times.

It has been a worrying continuation of the awful defending of last season, in which West Ham conceded a Premier League club record 74 goals – six of those being against Aston Villa.

And that has been with new £40m centre-back Max Kilman at the back.

Concerns the Hammers may have paid Wolves well over the odds for Kilman have not been eased by his own questionable performances.

It is no wonder Lopetegui has been desperate to almost completely rip up West Ham’s defence and midfield structure.

Villa face ‘work in progress’ West Ham at the best possible time

The problem is, for all the great work in the window, West Ham are only just getting all their ducks in a row.

The new players have barely had time to get to know one another let alone train and play together.

The core of Aston Villa’s starting XI will be the same as last season.

They have the same manager and staff and the excitement of Champions League football on the horizon.

West Ham have a new manager, with a new style of play, new staff and almost an entirely new starting XI.

But, it’s pre-season, and early days. For example Wan-Bissaka, Todibo and Rodriguez should make West Ham infinitely better at the back.

It will clearly be a work in progress, though.

The Hammers have been tipped to challenge Villa for the European spots this season.

But if ever there was a time to play West Ham it would be at the start of the campaign before their new signings bed in, gel and get to know the manager and his tactics.

Villa will be looking to exploit the fact the Hammers may very much be like a bunch of strangers at the start of the season.

Hammers hope as Villa have many of the same problems

But they would be mindful not to be too cocky.

Because many of the issues West Ham face are paralleled at Villa.

They too have a raft of new signings to bed in.

And, like West Ham, Villa have been poor at the end of last season and it has continued into pre-season too.

Emery’s side lost 4-2 and 2-0 to Olympiacos, suffered defeat to Brighton and lost the last game of the season to Palace 5-0.

In pre-season the Villans have lost 4-1 to Colombus, 2-0 to RB Leipzig, 1-0 to Club America and 2-0 to Borussia Dortmund.

So there’s clearly work for Emery to do as well.

Villa’s extra continuity may prove the big difference in this season opener.

But West Ham will be hoping the buzz around all the new arrivals can spark a markedly improved performance when the action gets underway for real.

One thing is for certain it will be fascinating to see how it unfolds.

And if Emery and Lopetegui can get mould a proper team from their new-look squads, then there is no reason that they can’t upset the so-called established top six come what May.