That quad-striped collar and the exact shade of West Ham United new home shirt were not the only sources of debate following the Premier League outfit’s 2025/26 kit launch.
Early July is always prime-time for rumour and speculation. Things are no different at West Ham United, either, despite the lack of movement in the transfer department.
Everyone appears to fancy themselves as an amateur sleuth in the days of ‘true crime’ podcasts and countless Netflix documentaries, and sections of the Hammers faithful could not resist channelling their inner-Sherlock as the club’s 2025/26 home shirt was unveiled.
There was Jarrod Bowen, front and centre as expected.
The captain is going nowhere this summer, even if Daniel Levy still dreams of luring Bowen to Tottenham.
Niclas Fullkrug was there too. The Germany international wants to stay and bounce back from a frustrating debut season in English football. Hammer of the Year Aaron Wan-Bissaka made an appearance, alongside a Carlton Cole cameo.
For reasons unexplained at this stage, however, Lucas Paqueta, Tomas Soucek, Alphonse Areola, Edson Alvarez, Emerson Palmieri and Mohammed Kudus were all conspicuous by their combined absence.
The same certainly cannot be said of James Ward-Prowse, though.
Fans convinced James Ward-Prowse is staying at West Ham United
Speculation over the former Southampton captain has been pretty few and far between during the first weeks of the summer window.
Graham Potter reportedly wants to keep Ward-Prowse at the London Stadium. And, if the midfielder’s heavy involvement during Thursday’s kit launch is anything to go by, the manager will get his wish.
“Bowen, AWB, Fullkrug, [Max] Killman and JWP all feature in the video,” one eagle-eyed supporter pointed out. “As do [youngsters Freddie] Potts, [Lewis] Orford and [Ollie] Scarles, briefly.
“No Emerson, Alvarez, Kudus or Paqueta, which isn’t surprising. No Areola or Soucek though, although there doesn’t appear to be a goalkeeper shirt released.
“Then, it’s likely those are the players not for sale,” another supporter responds. “Everyone else is.”
It certainly does not feel coincidental that Emerson, Alvarez, Paqueta, Areola, Soucek and Kudus appear to be the players most likely to leave at some point over the next two months.
Fabrizio Romano reports that Emerson is on his way, a return to Italy mooted for the ex-Roma man. Potter appears keen to move Soucek on, too. It is no secret that West Ham want a new first-choice goalkeeper to take Areola’s place, while Kudus continues to hold talks with Tottenham Hotspur.
A controversial transfer, certainly. But maybe a necessary one too, for a club needing to raise funds for new arrivals.
As for Ward-Prowse, a £30 million acquisition with two years left on a £115,000-a-week contract is likely to prove exceedingly difficult to shift. At least, in comparison to the younger, glamorous teammates like Kudus and Paqueta, or proven Premier League goalscorers like Soucek.
Ward-Prowse still chasing David Beckham’s Premier League free-kcik record
By his own admission, Ward-Prowse ensured a miserable 2024/25 campaign.
A loan spell at Nottingham Forest was terminated in January while even that personal party piece appears to have deserted a man who still trails David Beckham in pursuit of a unique piece of Premier League history.
Ward-Prowse is yet to add to his tally of 17 top-flight free-kicks since joining the Hammers in 2023.
Yet, if Bowen was the predictable posterboy of West Ham’s launch, then Ward-Prowse did not appear to be too far behind.
“That it would seem ain’t for sale,” another supporter writes in response to Ward-Prowse’s heavy involvement during a cleanly-produced, snappily-edited unveiling.
“Does this mean we aren’t selling JWP?”
“JWP with the new shirt on, he ain’t going nowhere with that massive salary.”
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