There is a big kit change on the horizon for West Ham next season if they stay in the Premier League after an announcement.
There is some uncertainty over whether West Ham will stick with Umbro as the club’s kit manufacturer.
The suggestion is that the Hammers will stay with Umbro but there have been rumours for some time of a potential deal with Nike.
And a retro reboot concept of West Ham’s classic 1980s Adidas kit has also whetted the appetite to return to the Three Stripes too.
Regardless of which way West Ham go with the new kit maker, things will be different next season – so long as the Hammers stay up.
Because big kit change is on the horizon for West Ham next season if they stay in the Premier League. Quite literally.
The Premier League has announced kit changes for next season, with much larger numbers and a new font for player names.
Top-flight clubs will wear shirts with rebranded elements from the 2023-24 term that the Premier League says will provide “increased visibility and more impact both on and off the pitch”.
It will be only the fourth re-design in Premier League history – all the way back to 1992.
Avery Dennison, the designers who came up with the new font, have increased the size on the backs of shirts by around 10%.
West Ham fans will have to be eagle-eyed to spot the differences in the new design, which you can see in the video above.
But it is clearly noticeable in numbers such as ‘3’. And close inspection reveals a zig-zag pattern to the branding within the numbers themselves.
The number heights have increased from 230mm to 250mm, with the Premier League logo at the bottom also bigger.
Avery says the bigger negative space in the numbers also increases visibility from distances.
Next season’s shirts will also include a resigned sleeve badge featuring a standalone Premier League lion.
Will Brass, Chief Commercial Officer at the Premier League, said: “We wanted to work closely with Avery Dennison, using their expertise and experience to create new names and numbers which were not only clearer for those watching matches in stadiums or at home, but which also incorporated the Premier League brand more readily.
“The names and numbers have become part of the fabric of the Premier League. For fans, having the name and number of a favourite player, their own name or even a personal message helps to bring them closer to the competition and their favourite clubs.”
At the moment the West Ham kit is the least our concerns.
The manager and players just have to focus on making sure they are a Premier League team in order to wear the new-look strips.
And this week could go some way to help decide West Ham’s fate.
After the away game at Man City was postponed due to their involvement in the FA Cup, West Ham are not in action until April 2nd against relegation rivals Southampton.
But all of their direct rivals are – some of them twice.
Here are the matches where West Ham need results to go their way to keep them out of the relegation zone and in with a chance of leaping up the table after the international break.