West Ham United will kick their pre-season preparations up a notch on Saturday with a 37-mile journey down the road to Southend.
The Hammers beat Colchester 3-2 at Rush Green in a behind-closed-doors clash this week. Tomorrow’s 3pm kick-off at Roots Hall, though, will be their first match in front of a crowd since the 3-0 victory over Leeds on that fateful final day of the 2025/26 Premier League campaign.
Of course, there will be no sign of Crysencio Summerville, El Hadji Malick Diouf, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Edson Alvarez or Tomas Soucek. The quintet are enjoying an extended holiday following their World Cup exploits.
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Soucek picked up an injury on Czech Republic duty, anyway, and is likely to miss at least the first month of the Championship season.
However, those making the trip to Essex may be greeted by the welcome sight of Jarrod Bowen in West Ham United’s new kit. The captain is still in the building and, if you believe the murmurs coming out in the last few days, things are likely to stay that way too.
West Ham United face Southend in first official pre-season friendly
Forgotten men Niclas Fullkrug and Maxwel Cornet both scored in that Colchester clash, while Pablo Felipe netted his first – albeit unofficial – goal for the club.
All three will hope to feature at Roots Hall. James Ward-Prowse is another who might still have a part to play despite a strained relationship with Nuno Espirito Santo.
Speaking of Nuno, the head coach is using pre-season as an opportunity to take a closer look at the best and brightest from West Ham’s academy.
A breakout season is looming for Ezra Mayers. Josh Ajala is among those on the verge of senior involvement himself following a superb few months with the Under-21s.
“It’s been great to get back out on the grass and coach again in these first couple of weeks, and I’m really excited about the challenges that lie ahead in the coming weeks and months,” Under-21 coach Mark Robson said earlier this week, promising that opportunities would be forthcoming for the next generation of homegrown talent.
“I think right now the link between the Academy and the first team is as strong as it’s ever been, which is really exciting. There are obviously a few of us who have worked across the set-ups, and that bond is there.
“There are a lot of younger players training with the first team in pre-season now, and I’m really confident a number of them can play big roles in the Championship.”
Taty Castellanos and Dinos Mavropanos could feature at Roots Hall
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We suspect that Keiber Lamadrid, George Earthy, Callum Marshall and Mohamadou Kante will also be involved, whether from the start or off the bench.
Kaelan Casey, Lewis Orford, Preston Fearon, Airidas Golambeckis will hope to impress as well, as the Hammers weigh up whether a loan move would be good for their development.
As against Colchester, Nuno may opt to change his entire XI at the interval. Thus, giving as many players as possible the chance to get some valuable minutes in the legs with the Championship opener away to Burnley less than four weeks away.
Taty Castellanos, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Alphonse Areola, Ollie Scarles and Kyle Walker-Peters are available for selection.
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