Focus is already turning to what West Ham need to do in the summer window in order for Graham Potter to make the team his own.
West Ham have won back-to-back games for the first time in a year.
But Graham Potter knows there is a lot of work to do to get the Hammers where he wants them.
West Ham have become a tough watch over the last year or so.
And it has become clear big changes will be needed to get the team competitive at the right end of the table again.
The Hammers were professional and solid enough in a 2-0 win over Leicester.
Some fans were unconvinced by the way West Ham played, though.
Games against Palace, Brentford and Leicester at the London Stadium under Potter have followed a similar pattern.
Potter knows signings needed to make West Ham his
West Ham look slow and sorely lacking in ideas and guile against teams who sit off them.
The difference against Leicester, though, was that Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side were woefully bad, enabling the Hammers to win at a canter.
For now a win is a win for the Irons.
However, Potter admits it’s far from where he wants West Ham to be.
The biggest problem for the Hammers is undoubtedly the midfield.
That is where Tim Steidten and Julen Lopetegui – and David Moyes before him – have failed miserably in the time since Declan Rice’s departure.
West Ham’s midfield is desperately short of athleticism, dynamism, creativity, pace and power.
Steidten left exciting gift for Potter to unwrap at West Ham
Edson Alvarez, James Ward-Prowse and Tomas Soucek is a hard-working, functional midfield.
But it is not going to have the Hammers competing for Europe anytime soon.
Beyond that, the ageing and slow Guido Rodriguez has barely played under Potter while young Lewis Orford needs a loan.
It’s why Potter was so keen to sign the likes of Ezechiel Banzuzi and others in the winter window.
But Steidten left an exciting gift for Potter to unwrap at West Ham this summer.
After Steidten was sent packing in the January window, the Hammers made it clear he had been ultimately responsible for all transfer activity last summer.
It was West Ham’s way of blaming the German for the failed rebuild.
Steidten oversaw a £155m spend on nine players.
And it is clear another big revamp will be needed so Potter can get the kind of players he wants and bring the age of the team down while injecting some energy and drive.
West Ham have admitted money is going to be tight.
But Steidten left behind a forgotten present which may solve a big problem for Potter and save the club millions.
Forgotten capture Kante could save West Ham millions
Steidten actually made 10 signings in the summer, not nine.
And the one many may already have forgotten about who could be the biggest gem of them all.
Towards the end of the window, West Ham announced the signing of Mohamadou Kante from Ligue 2 club Paris FC for a reported £500k.
The talented young box-to-box midfielder has all the ingredients in his game the Hammers are missing.
The 19-year-old joined the Hammers on permanent transfer on a five-year deal and returned to Paris FC on loan for the 2024/25 season.
The Red Bull-owned club are second in Ligue 2 and pushing for promotion to the big time in France.
Paris FC have extremely wealthy backers in Red Bull and have announced they are moving into the Stade Jean-Bouin next season – the ground literally on the doorstep of PSG’s Parc des Princes.
Since signing for West Ham, Kante has been somewhat discarded by the Red Bull setup.
Big step up but Kante has attributes Hammers are missing
But the 19-year-old has been on the bench in recent games and got some minutes in the 3-2 win over Annecy on Friday.
Kante is very highly rated in France.
Who knows, he could prove to be Steidten’s shrewdest signing yet.
The difference is West Ham now have the perfect manager to bring Kante through.
He is the type of player Potter and Kyle Macauley would be targeting.
The duo signed a number of players of Kante’s profile during their time together at Brighton, who continue to reap the rewards.
Obviously the Premier League is a huge step up. But Kante could help solve many of West Ham’s glaring midfield issues.
Other midfielders will still be needed in the summer.
But one less may be required to rejuvenate the Hammers squad when Potter gets to work with Kante.
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