New West Ham United head coach Julen Lopetegui named an interesting starting lineup for our pre-season friendly clash with Ferencvaros yesterday afternoon.
Julen Lopetegui clearly has a lot of work to do at West Ham this summer, if he is to get his players up to speed ahead of the 2024/25 Premier League campaign.
Here’s how Hammers news rated the West Ham players’ performances during our 2-2 draw with Ferencvaros.
The 57-year-old Hammers head coach has made some good signings already this summer, and he’s apparently planning plenty more before the transfer window closes.
As well as another three or four incomings, there is bound to be plenty of outgoings as well, with Lopetegui in need of balancing the books at the London Stadium.
One player in particular will be questioning his future at West Ham after Lopetegui’s team selection against Ferencvaros.
Despite the fact that it was the first friendly of the summer, the Hammers boss sent a very clear message with his starting lineup as far as I’m concerned.
Julen Lopetegui team selection v Ferencvaros bad news for £25m man
There were plenty of standout moments during our first pre-season game of the summer out in Austria yesterday.
However, there was one omission from Lopetegui’s starting XI that really caught my eye.
The Hammers boss left Kurt Zouma on the bench, and only brought him on in the second-half.
West Ham signed Zouma from Chelsea for a fee believed to be worth around £25 million in the summer of 2021 (The Independent).
The 29-year-old was brilliant for the Hammers during his first two seasons at the London Stadium, and was a mainstay under David Moyes.
The Scot made Zouma the club captain at the start of last season after Declan Rice left to join Arsenal – a decision that was utterly baffling at the time.
And the Frenchman regressed badly last term, certainly from a physical standpoint.
It has since been claimed that West Ham could actually sell Zouma this summer, and it wouldn’t be surprising at all if that did indeed happen.
He’s nowhere near fit enough to be playing football at the highest level anymore, and his knees are a major concern.
I think Zouma’s time at West Ham could well be coming to an end, specially after the Julen Lopetegui team selection for the Ferencvaros clash.
I fully expect the Spaniard to go out and sign another centre-back this summer to partner Max Kilman, and failing that, I believe Konstantinos Mavropanos will play alongside the former Wolves man, in spite of his shaky display yesterday.
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