Positivity reigns at West Ham United at the moment, thanks largely to the news that Jarrod Bowen would be staying at the London Stadium.
24 hours before he was greeted by a rapturous applause from over 2,000 travelling supporters during a 1-1 pre-season friendly draw with Southend, captain Bowen confirmed his undying commitment to the Hammers’ cause.
The talismanic forward had made the trip to the Czech Republic to hold talks with Daniel Kretinsky.
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Now, Kretinsky was already an increasingly popular presence among West Ham United supporters. Convincing Jarrod Bowen that the club matched his ambitions, that they would do everything to make Premier League football return as early as 2027, was another almighty feather in the ‘Czech Sphinx’s’ cap.
Mads Hermansen is sticking around too, albeit there were not quite so many rumours surrounding a goalkeeper who played fewer than half of the Premier League matches available last season.
Even if there were, Kretinsky has made it clear that West Ham won’t be selling any more key players than necessary.
Mads Hermansen is looking forward to the new season with West Ham United
Losing Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville was inevitable. Retaining Hermansen, Tomas Soucek, Taty Castellanos, El Hadji Malick Diouf and Dinos Mavropanos is, partly because of the £150 million brought in already this summer, increasingly probable.
“Of course, last season was tough, and relegation is never fun for anyone,” Hermansen tells the club’s official website; the goalkeeper also glad to see some consistency in the dugout.
“So it was good to take a break, reflect and look at ourselves in the mirror so we could see where we can improve individually and as a team.
“Consistency is always good, and I think Nuno staying was really important. Then it was fantastic to hear Jarrod was staying. He’s our captain, our leader, so it was huge to know that he wasn’t going anywhere.
“Throughout pre-season, the mood and spirit around the club has been really good, and I’ve enjoyed coming in and working hard every day. I think we’ve turned a corner from last season, and we’re all looking forward to going again when the new season gets underway.”
Kretinsky was key to keeping Nuno Espirito Santo as well, by the way. David Sullivan favoured a change in the dugout – hence those rumours with Scott Parker. But the fact that Kretinsky won this particular power struggle, only days before Sullivan resigned as chairman, now feels like a real passing of the baton moment from one era to another.
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Fans ready to return to the London Stadium as kick off looms
Nothing sums up the new-found optimism pervading East London than the fact that West Ham have sold 50,000 season tickets heading into their first second-tier campaign in 14 years.
To quote Rui Pedro Silva, Nuno’s new assistant coach, the fan support has been ‘incredible’.
If it wasn’t for Kretinsky’s determination to keep the squad together, for the commitment shown by Bowen, Nuno, Hermansen and more, it’s hard to imagine that so many would have been rushing to renew their season tickets with the season opener against Portsmouth in the EFL Cup now a fortnight away.
“It’s incredible. It’s amazing,” Silva said after that draw at Roots Hall.
“Even in the last game that we played at Southend, seeing all the fans in the stadium was really, really good.
“There is no team without supporters behind them. If we’ve got all those supporters behind us, I think we need to build up a stronger position from that point, for sure, yeah.”
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