Nuno Espirito Santo admits West Ham United desperately needed to change course during the January transfer window.
Up until that point, West Ham United looked all but certain to be relegated from the Premier League, following a miserable time of things under both Graham Potter and Nuno himself.
Any changes to this team? I wouldn’t drop KWP any time soon 👀
However, West Ham made four major signings during the 2026 January transfer window, and almost all of them have had a significant impact on the team.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Nuno has explained why they were so active in January.
Nuno wanted to rebalance West Ham United’s squad
The head coach admitted that the club simply had to change their approach, one that had failed them up until January.
He said: “We reduced the numbers in terms of players and rebalanced our squad in terms of positions.
“Basically, [for] the way we wanted to approach the second half of the season. The previous idea that we had – a different idea for the second half.”
Who will prove to be a better signing and why?! 🤔
Almost all of West Ham’s signings have worked out. Axel Disasi has brought strength to a backline previously lacking it, while the energy and industry that Pablo Felipe and Taty Castellanos have created up front gives the team an entirely new platform.
Even Adama Traore, whose arrival was almost universally met with a collective sigh here in east London, has started to impress in recent weeks.
West Ham’s many failures in the transfer market in recent years have rightly been discussed. In January, they appear to have got something right at last.
January transfer spending could be the difference in the relegation battle
For many, the relegation battle now comes down to a straight shootout between West Ham and Tottenham.
Currently, West Ham are slight favourites to stay up ahead of Spurs.
That is largely down to the business that they conducted in January. Without that, the Irons would surely have been cut adrift weeks ago.
Where Spurs did not strengthen, West Ham very much did it.
As it stands, that looks like the key difference in the relegation battle.
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