West Ham United have made a very slow start to the 2024/25 Premier League campaign.
Julen Lopetegui was named as the new West Ham head coach in the summer, but the Spaniard hasn’t experienced an easy ride at the London Stadium so far.
The Hammers head coach brought some fantastic players to the London Stadium in the summer, but not all of them hit the ground running.
Before the Ipswich game, there was actually talk of Lopetegui getting the sack if results didn’t improve quickly, but he apparently assured the board that he will turn things around.
The 4-1 win was evidence that Lopetegui may be on the cusp of getting things right at West Ham, but we will only see whether or not that is the case over the course of the next few months.
The international break came at a terrible time for Lopetegui and his players – we now have to wait until October 19th before our next game.
So how do we think the players have fared as a whole? Hammers News have complied our player ratings for the season so far…
West Ham player ratings for season so far
There have been plenty of strong performers, but just as many bad ones unfortunately.
Here is how we’ve rated the players out of 10 so far…
Alphonse Areola 6
I expect so much more from the France international. The 31-year-old is an exceptional shot-stopper, but he has been really poor at commanding his area this season. Alphonse Areola has been suspect with the ball at his feet as well, and he will have to improve upon that aspect of his game if he is to succeed under Lopetegui.
Lukasz Fabianski 6
Has been decent when called upon but he’s starting to show his age. Lukasz Fabianski is still a more than able deputy for Areola though.
Wes Foderingham N/A
Hasn’t played a single minute for the first-team yet.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka 7.5
The 26-year-old right-back has proven to be one of our better summer signings, and he has made a huge impact. Aaron Wan-Bissaka has pace and power in abundance, and provides us with the ability to press higher up the pitch as a team what with his explosive recovery speed. I expect him to get better and better for us as time goes on.
Vladimir Coufal 5
The 32-year-old is a proper pro. The Czech Republic international is always reliable and performs to a decent standard when called upon. However, he’s not suited to the modern era whereby full-backs are expected to bomb on and create and score goals. That said, Vladimir Coufal is a very strong member of the group
Max Kilman 9
The standout player for me so far this season. Max Kilman has proven to be the signing of the summer by quite a long way. The 27-year-old oozes coolness and composure at the heart of our defence, possesses decent pace, is aerially dominant and the way that he steps out from the back with the ball at his feet is quite something to watch. An absolute Rolls Royce of a player.
Jean-Clair Todibo 6.5
The 24-year-old experienced a really slow start at the London Stadium, but he finally came into his own during our win over Ipswich Town on Saturday. Jean-Clair Todibo is an elite central defender, and he will be a fantastic player for us. His display against Ipswich was just the beginning of great things to come for him in East London.
Konstantinos Mavropanos 5
I have been hugely disappointed by the Greece international so far this season. Sometimes he looks like a world beater, and then all of a sudden he’ll make a glaring mistake that costs us dearly. Konstantinos Mavropanos has all of the attributes needed to succeed at the highest level, but something is clearly lacking.
Emerson Palmieri 6
We all know how good the Italian is, but he hasn’t hit the heights of last season just yet. That has partly been due to Lucas Paqueta moving more central, but the onus is still on Emerson Palmieri to improve, and I’m sure he will do.
Aaron Cresswell 6
The Hammers vice-captain hasn’t played much this season but to be fair to him, he has been decent when called upon. Aaron Cresswell hasn’t got the pace needed to be a Premier League full-back anymore, but he’s clearly still a very influential member of the squad.
Edson Alvarez 6
The Mexican has been nowhere near his best for us so far this season. In fairness to Edson Alvarez, he suffered a serious hamstring injury back in June, so he’s probably not anywhere near full fitness just yet. I want to see a lot more from the 26-year-old when Premier League action resumes later this month.
Guido Rodriguez 6.5
The Hammers were widely praised for winning the race for the Argentinian’s signature in the summer. Whilst Guido Rodriguez still needs to adapt to the Premier League, I’ve seen enough of him already to know that he’ll be a success for us.
Andy Irving 6
The Scot has become somewhat of a cult hero at the London Stadium. Andy Irving has only made a couple of late substitute appearances, but he has actually looked quite decent for us so far this season.
Carlos Soler 6
The Spaniard is clearly a very talented player, but he is still yet to make a big impact during a game for us. Once Carlos Soler is fully settled in and up to speed, he’ll be a big player for us.
Lucas Paqueta 5
In my opinion, the Brazilian has been one of our most disappointing players so far this season. Considering how much talent Lucas Paqueta has, he quite simply hasn’t been anywhere near good enough. The 27-year-old needs to focus more than he has been, albeit easier said than done given his off-field issues. More goals and assists will be the order of the day for Paqueta when Premier League action resumes.
Tomas Soucek 7
The Czech Republic international has been his usual consistent self this season. He’s scored some vital goals for us and has contributed defensively as well, especially aerially. I think that Tomas Soucek has made himself almost undroppable with his performances over the past couple of weeks.
Mohammed Kudus 6.5
The Ghana international always looks dangerous for us, but he hasn’t quite hit the heights of last season yet. It says it all that his first goal of the season came last weekend during our win over Ipswich. Mohammed Kudus has it all, and should be racking up 15 goals and 10 assists as a bare minimum this season. Big improvements are needed from the 24-year-old.
Jarrod Bowen 7
The captain made a slow start to the season, but he continued to work hard and contributed defensively throughout the hard times. Jarrod Bowen returned to somewhere near his best last weekend during our 4-1 win over Ipswich Town, bagging a goal and two assists.
Michail Antonio 5.5
The Jamaica international isn’t at the level required to be a regular Premier League starter anymore in my opinion. That said, he did put in a much better performance during our win over Ipswich. I still think Michail Antonio should be a squad player for us, and nothing more.
Crysencio Summerville 6.5
Despite being given limited minutes by Lopetegui this season, Crysencio Summerville has looked really bright when coming on as a second-half substitute. His explosive pace and directness is something that should really help us this season.
Danny Ings 5
The only reason we’ve given Ings a 5 and not a 4 is the fact that he scored a vital equaliser for us earlier on this season away at Fulham. In fairness to Danny Ings though, he really hasn’t been given enough chances to prove his worth.
Niclas Fullkrug 3
The German has endured a disastrous start to his West Ham career. When he has played, he’s looked sluggish, has been miles off the pace, and given his age, he definitely won’t get any quicker. The fact Niclas Fullkrug been missing through injury for a month now has hugely tarnished his first three months with the club as well. In spite of all of that, I still think he will have a lot to offer us when he reaches peak fitness.
Luis Guilherme N/A
It’s impossible to give Luis Guilherme a fair score really, considering the fact that he’s been given just five minutes of action for the first-team by Lopetegui this season.
Overall, there have been a lot of positives, in spite of our challenging start to the 2024/25 campaign.
That said, there are some obvious negatives as well. I expect to see big improvements from the likes of Edson Alvarez, Mohammed Kudus and Lucas Paqueta during the next few months.
I would also like to see Fullkrug get back to full fitness and prove his worth for the Hammers.
The West Ham player ratings above highlight just how inconsistent we’ve been – plenty of good and equally as much bad.
Hopefully the scale will swing in the favour of good rather than bad during the final six months of the season.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
