Julen Lopetegui is back in the Premier League, so we’ve taken a look at the key issues surrounding his return to English football with our West Ham 2024-25 season preview.
Will a Lack of Entertainment Harm Lopetegui?
A gripe that many of the West Ham fans had with former manager David Moyes was that the football was too dull. It was defence-first football rather than we’re-gonna-score-more-goals-than-you football.
The Europa Conference League triumph essentially meant any complaints about Moyes evaporated and he will unquestionably be remembered with fondness by every single fan for providing that trophy.
But there was little opposition to the decision to part ways with him in the summer and bring in someone new with the hope of a little more excitement on pitch.
Hold on, we’ve been here before, haven’t we?
West Ham’s owners replaced Moyes with Manuel Pellegrini back in 2018 in the hope of more entertainment. They made a string of high-profile and expensive signings, and finished the season 10th in the Premier League. It felt like a classic case of a club and their fanbase assuming the grass was greener elsewhere.
They realised the error of their ways, and – it seems – may have learned their lesson. While some may be expecting new manager Julen Lopetegui to bring a more entertaining brand of football – sorry expectant West Ham fans – that isn’t his style.
He is a manager whose first thought is almost always his defence. During Lopetegui’s three full seasons in charge of Sevilla, his team’s best non-penalty goals per game figure was 1.34 in 2021-22; West Ham averaged more under Moyes in each of the 2023-24 (1.47), 2021-22 (1.47) and 2020-21 (1.58) Premier League seasons.
Lopetegui has instead been brought in to help shore up the defence. Only the three relegated teams conceded more goals in the Premier League last season than West Ham (74), who let in three or more goals on 11 occasions. Fixing things at that end of the pitch will be Lopetegui’s priority, and understandably so.
There is a chance that the fans will struggle to be patient with him if West Ham are less entertaining – at least to start with – than they were under Moyes. A strong defensive record may end up counting against the new manager.
Can Kudus Step Up?
Mohammed Kudus showed more than enough in his first season in England to prove he was worth the money West Ham spent on him last summer. Still just 24 years old and with four years remaining on his contract, there is surely plenty more to come from him in east London, too.
But there will also be a hope (or maybe even an expectation) that he produces his best a little more consistently this season. Eight goals and six assists in 27 Premier League starts and six substitute appearances is a pretty decent return in his debut campaign at West Ham, but there’s no doubt he’s capable of more.
The signing of Niclas Füllkrug (more on him below) may help, and not only because the presence of a proper number nine and a lethal finisher could aid Kudus’ assists numbers. Just as important, though, could be the consistency Füllkrug brings to West Ham’s starting XI.
Last term, Kudus played in six different positions, in part because Michail Antonio couldn’t play every week. Füllkrug’s presence should at least mean Jarrod Bowen can stay on the right and Kudus is given a more consistent run in one position, which ought to be a big help.
That would likely be on the left, although there are also some calls for him to play centrally, and the fact he is so good with both feet means he can affect play wherever he plays.
He is an exceptional ball carrier and a huge attacking threat because he moves the ball towards goal so reliably. Kudus followed up a carry (defined as the player moving the ball five metres or more) with a successful dribble on 109 occasions last season – the most of any player in the Premier League – and there was plenty of end product to his work, too, as he ranked eighth for carries followed by a shot or chance created (49) and fifth for carries followed by a goal or assist (7).
He is far from the finished product, but there is clearly a great deal of potential there. West Ham fans will hope to see a little more of it this season.
Is This Too Much Change Too Quickly?
At the time of writing, West Ham have already made eight signings this summer (as well as changing manager) and have seen another eight players leave the club. At least five of the new signings – Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Max Kilman, Jean-Clair Todibo, Crysensio Summerville and Füllkrug – will be aiming to play a prominent role in the first XI right away, and there may even be more to come.
There is also the possibility of Lucas Paquetá missing some of the season through suspension. He was charged by The FA in May over “misconduct in relation to alleged breaches of FA Rules E5 and F3”, with the Brazilian accused of “intentionally seeking to receive a card from the referee for the improper purpose of affecting the betting market in order for one or more persons to profit”. Paquetá denies the charges but the situation isn’t resolved, meaning he and West Ham go into the season with uncertainty hanging over them. He had been a key player last season, so adjusting to playing without him may take some time if he was to ultimately be hit with a ban.
Will the general overhaul be too much for the squad to contend with? After all, West Ham have the second-most difficult opening five games of the season (according to our calculations), meaning they’re going to have to get used to playing the Lopetegui way while facing tough home games against Aston Villa, Manchester City and Chelsea and in away games against Crystal Palace and Fulham.
West Ham ended last season with only one win – against relegated Luton – and four defeats in their final six games, putting them 17th in the Premier League form table, so it’s not as if they’ll start the season with confidence in how they were playing in May.
Things do at least get easier after that tough opening run, with West Ham facing only one of last season’s top seven in their next five games, having played three of the top six in their opening five.
So, if their opening five matches are just viewed as an opportunity to learn to play together on the job, there’ll be pressure on the next five games to start picking up points.
Will the Lack of European Football Be a Help or Hindrance?
On a related note, there is no European football for West Ham this season, which means less strain on the squad but also fewer chances to learn Lopetegui’s game. So, will they benefit from the lighter schedule, or will it hurt them?
This will be the first season since 2020-21 in which West Ham won’t be playing in Europe. Their domestic form suffered in the last two of those three seasons, as they finished 14th and ninth in the Premier League when the team was surely capable of better.
After a summer refresh and plenty of investment in the squad this year, there is an argument that being able to focus on the league will be a good thing. Since August 2021, the only Premier League teams to have played more competitive matches than West Ham (164) are Manchester City (179) and Liverpool (173). So maybe they could do with a break this season, and no European football now means more time on the training ground for the new manager to get his ideas across to his squad.
But Lopetegui might be a little unhappy not to be in Europe. He won the Europa League in 2019-20 with Sevilla, and he would presumably take any competition seriously if he had the chance. European competitions have provided many highlights over the last three seasons, and there is no West Ham fan who would exchange the Conference League trophy for a better Premier League position.
West Ham also haven’t been past the quarter-finals of a domestic cup competition since 2010-11, but have made the quarters and semis in their last two Europa League participations and they won the ECL in 2022-23. Either of those European competitions would, realistically, represent a better chance of more silverware than either the FA Cup or League Cup, so that’s another reason that Lopetegui might be rueing the lack of continental competition.
Whether the lack of European football be a help or hindrance to West Ham’s chances of making this season a success depends on what the priority is. If it is finishing as high up the Premier League table as possible, and making another challenge for the top four, then playing fewer games will only be a help.
Will Füllkrug Succeed or Flop?
In the snap-judgement world of Premier League football, we must, naturally, be entirely binary about new number nine Niclas Füllkrug’s first season: it will either be a success or a failure.
In fairness, given how badly so many of West Ham’s recent signings in the centre-forward position have done, Füllkrug won’t have to do much to be deemed a success.
His main job will of course be scoring goals but almost as important will be occupying opposition centre-backs with his physical game to help get the most out of attackers like Bowen, Kudus and Summerville.
He is very good at playing with his back to goal and bringing others into play so that is something that should go well enough, as long as he isn’t left too isolated up top (assuming that Lopetegui will prioritise a solid defence over free-flowing attacking performances).
He has shown over the last few years how dangerous he is front of goal, taking advantage of his clever movement to get into good positions to score. He doesn’t need much time on the pitch to find the net, and has shown as much in particular at international level.
He has averaged a goal every 63.6 minutes in Germany colours since his debut in November 2022, and has four goals from just 227 minutes in major international tournaments, averaging one every 56.8 minutes – the best rate of any German to play in at least five games at World Cups or Euros.
West Ham fans will hope he takes to the Premier League as quickly as he took to playing at major international tournaments.
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