Julen Lopetegui faces a massive task at West Ham this summer if he is to bring the team back to its former glory.
David Moyes’ squad were criticised throughout the 2023/24 campaign, as was his style of football, so the Spaniard will need to make several changes in the transfer market to account for that.
Despite the summer transfer window yet to open, changes are already being made, with Angelo Ogbonna being released upon the expiration of his contract while Cresswell has signed a one-year extension.
The defence was one of the biggest problems for Moyes last season, with Ogbonna only playing a backup role to Kurt Zouma, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Nayef Aguerd.
Lopetegui may even be without the latter upon his arrival at the London Stadium later this summer, which could leave the manager in a very tough situation before his work has even begun.
According to The Sun [2 June], Atletico Madrid are prepared to spend £20million on the Moroccan international, with the centre-back keen to play his football in Spain.
Julen Lopetegui to inherit West Ham United mess with Nayef Aguerd set to leave
This would leave just Zouma and Mavropanos at Lopetegui’s disposal, and having missed out on a defensive signing already, he could be set to inherit a total mess this summer.
While Aguerd has not become a fan favourite at the London Stadium, there is no doubt that he is a talented defender and will leave a major gap in the defence.
That could have been easily fixed already, should the Hammers not have missed out on the signing of Flamengo’s Fabricio Bruno already.
With West Ham finishing in ninth in the Premier League this season, dropping out of the Europa League, and missing out on European qualification, the manager has at least one season to get to grips with his current situation.
After that, however, the fans will be expecting a quick change from how Moyes left the club this season, and Aguerd could be an important part of that if West Ham are to keep the player this summer.
