David Moyes will be remembered as the greatest West Ham United manager of modern times, but many believed a refresh was required in east London. Step forward, Julen Lopetegui.

The Spaniard arrives with a fairly lofty reputation following his exploits with Sevilla and a brief stint at Wolves means West Ham’s new touchline marauder has Premier League experience.

The Hammers have certainly appeased their exotic new coach by overseeing an incredibly busy and exciting transfer window, but will Lopetegui’s shiny new toys coalesce to have West Ham challenging for the European spots again?

Here’s 90min’s season preview of West Ham’s 2024/25 campaign.

West Ham have endured back-to-back indifferent domestic campaigns, but their exploits in Europe under Moyes made their Premier League malaise more than bearable.

The Hammers returned to Europe off the back of a sixth-place finish in 2020/21 and Moyes’ pragmatic outfit failed to disappoint on the continental stage. Europa League semi-finalists in 2021/22, West Ham then went on to win the Europa Conference League in 2023 – their first European trophy since 1965.

There will be no magical European nights for supporters to enjoy during Lopetegui’s debut campaign which does put pressure on the Spaniard to deliver domestically.

West Ham’s new boys have picked their numbers for 2024/25 and there’s no doubt the club’s fresh faces will be popular picks for supporters’ shirts.

Jean-Clair Todibo (6), Crysencio Summerville (7), Niclas Fullkrug (11), Luis Guilherme (17), Guido Rodriguez (24) and Max Kilman (26) are among the names who constitute the Hammers’ busy window.

James Ward-Prowse has switched from seven to eight, while Maxwell Cornet will now don 22 having previously worn 17 at the London Stadium.

*Numbers subject to change before end of transfer window

In

Out

Home kit

Away kit

Third kit

Lopetegui will hope new arrival Niclas Fullkrug can come in and operate as his leading man right away. The Spaniard is unlikely to appreciate Michail Antonio’s technical limitations and won’t want to use the Jamaica international all that regularly.

However, Fullkrug is set to function as a facilitator while leading West Ham’s line and won’t be overly prolific. The Germany international scored 12 Bundesliga goals for Borussia Dortmund last season and is a shrewd addition for the Hammers, but it’s their wide players who’ll likely do much of the scoring.

There’s no reason why Jarrod Bowen can’t produce similar numbers to 2023/24 down the right, with the England international likely to benefit from Fullkrug’s arrival. There are question marks over Mohammed Kudus‘ best role within the new manager’s framework, but the Ghanaian star has the capacity to enjoy a productive year two having dazzled in spurts last season.

On paper, West Ham have excelled themselves in the transfer market, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the Irons are guaranteed to build on their ninth-place finish last season.

What happened the last time the club hired an exotic name in the hope they’d oversee a stylistic alteration more fitting of the supporters’ desires? Manuel Pellegrini led West Ham to tenth in the 2018/19 season following sky-high expectations.

There is a sense that history might repeat itself in 2024/25 and it won’t take long for Hammers fans to realise Lopetegui’s ideals don’t drastically differ from Moyes’. Expect West Ham to build up at a slower pace and offer superior defensive resilience compared to last season, but supporters are unlikely to enjoy a brand of football previously unseen at the London Stadium.

The high expectations are setting supporters up for disappointment, but West Ham will not endure a woeful season. They might underwhelm, though.

West Ham 2024/25 Premier League prediction – 9th

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