Julen Lopetegui has struck the perfect balance, but many West Ham fans won’t want to hear it. West Ham United boss Julen Lopetegui is clearly a man on a mission this summer, and it’s great to see. Julen Lopetegui arrived at the London Stadium earlier this summer to replace the recently departed David Moyes as the new West Ham head coach.
The Spaniard has hit the ground running as well, with deals for Max Kilman, Luis Guilherme and Wes Foderingham already secure.
Now deals for Niclas Fullkrug, Crysencio Summerville, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Guido Rodriguez are believed to be close to being completed.
The Hammers seem to be very close to having a squad capable of pushing for the top seven. In fact, I think if those four deals mentioned above go through, we should be looking to finish seventh as a bare minimum. If Lopetegui manages to add another top-class centre-back to his ranks as well, it will undoubtedly be a 10/10 window.
However, even without that, I think we can all agree that the Spaniard has acted far more efficiently and effectively in the transfer market than Moyes ever did. That said, there are still plenty of West Ham fans out there who are angry in response to a particular route Lopetegui has gone down.
Julen Lopetegui has struck the perfect balance at West Ham
The 57-year-old has been given the remit of getting the Hammers back into the European places.
That will not be easy of course, but Lopetegui is going about it the right way by signing some top-class players.
West Ham face an incredibly difficult start to the new season, with games against Aston Villa, Manchester City and Chelsea to come in our first five outings of the season.
Lopetegui will be desperate to hit the ground running, and in order to do that, deals for the players we’re being linked with now have to get wrapped up as soon as possible.
However, there are some fans who have been voicing their concerns about the ages of some of the players the Spaniard is bringing in to the London Stadium.
I just don’t think those concerns are valid though.
So let’s assume that the deals for Summerville, Wan-Bissaka, Fullkrug and Rodriguez all go through as planned, the average age of the seen summer signings made by Lopetegui will stand at 26.7.
I really feel strongly that the Hammers chief will then have struck the perfect balance between experience and youth.
Julen Lopetegui of West Ham United during a pre-season training session on July 24, 2024 in Tampa, Florida. As much as it’s great to sign youngsters, none of them are guaranteed to succeed, especially in the Premier League.
A few older heads are needed to help guide the young stars through the tough times that they will all unquestionably face.
Many West Ham fans are moaning about the potential signings of Fullkrug and Rodriguez and the done deal for Foderingham.
However, it’s simply not realistic to sign seven players all under the age of 23.
It’s worth remembering as well that the Hammers head coach is obviously prepared to give chances to some of our best youngsters this season, including the likes of George Earthy, Freddie Potts and Ollie Scarles.
Many West Ham fans might not like to admit it, or even hear it, but Julen Lopetegui has got his recruitment absolutely spot on so far this summer.
