A top player West Ham planned to sign in January has twisted the knife on Graham Potter with a brutal verdict on why he snubbed the club.
West Ham fans are divided over whether Graham Potter is the right man to lead the club forward as his dismal record stretched to just three wins in 16 games.
While most fans felt Potter must be given the summer to rebuild the team with his own players, there are increasing doubts about the under pressure Hammers boss.
Potter needs West Ham overhaul but there’s a problem
The malaise at West Ham is nothing new and dates back to January 2024, spanning three managers and a complete squad overhaul.
So the worry is that the Hammers will perform yet another rebuild, which on the evidence of this season is sorely needed, under the wrong manager.
Potter has taken West Ham backwards in terms of the league table and results, dropping from 13th when Julen Lopetegui was sacked, to 17th with three games to go.
With only a dotted line separating West Ham and the relegation zone as things stand, there can be no more backward steps next season.
And the teams coming up are expected to be much more competitive than the last two seasons.
In truth West Ham need players right across the pitch.
But midfield and up front are the biggest issues.
The centre of the park is lacking power, pace, dynamism and guile.
West Ham do not possess a single box-to-box midfield powerhouse like most of their rivals.
The good thing is that Potter appeared to spot that immediately on joining the club in January as he planned to sign one.
But now a top star West Ham planned to sign twists the knife with a brutal new verdict on Potter after his snub.
Banzuzi twists knife with brutal new verdict on Potter
West Ham had looked on course to sign Ezechiel Banzuzi for around £13m but the deal didn’t happen.
Last week young Dutch midfield powerhouse Banzuzi admitted the Hammers wanted to sign him from Belgian side OH Leuven in January.
“West Ham also came knocking, but that didn’t happen either,” Banzuzi said as he admitted a move to Monaco fell through too.
Banzuzi did not elaborate on the reason why the West Ham move didn’t happen, though. Until now.
And it doesn’t do Potter any favours in the big debate over his future – because what Banzuzi has said suggests West Ham are going to struggle to attract players this summer.
OH Leuven ended up agreeing a deal to sell Banzuzi to RB Leipzig in the summer.
Now Banzuzi says it is a good thing the West Ham move didn’t happen because not only are the team struggling, he also doesn’t like the way Potter plays football.
“I wanted to leave, that was on my mind,” Banzuzi admitted about the interest from West Ham in January.
“But in retrospect it is good that it did not happen.
“West Ham is not doing so well, it is not the type of football I want to play.”
Many Hammers fans would agree with the powerful 20-year-old on the evidence so far.
Banzuzi comments suggest Hammers may struggle to attract players
West Ham need to drastically improve next season.
And in order to do that they need yet another sizeable overhaul of players. That in itself will present its own challenges in terms of gelling next season.
So Potter must give supporters something to reassure them in the last three games that the Banzuzi scenario is not going to be a problem this summer.
It also proves players do look at where a team is in the table when making decisions on their future.
While a win could lift West Ham up to the dizzy heights of 14th, finishing 17th will make them a very unattractive proposition for prospective signings.
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