Biggest wonderkid since Rice: West Ham struck gold on “electric” starle. Graham Potter will be looking forward to the 2025/26 season, where he will be able to put his own spin on this West Ham United squad. However, Julen Lopetegui took charge in the summer, having his say on quite a big spend ahead of the current Premier League season.
The Hammers spent €144.40m (£123.7m) in the 2024/25 summer transfer window, bringing eight new players to the club on a permanent basis, whilst also making two loan signings. This comes after significant spending in the 2023/24 season too, with an outlay of €144.56m (£124m).
The reason West Ham were able to spend important funds for two years straight was much down to their record sale, Declan Rice, joining Arsenal in the 2023/24 summer window for a fee of around £105m.
Declan Rice going from strength to strength
Rice made his breakthrough at West Ham, signing his first senior contract with the club in 2015, receiving his first senior call-up in 2017 and making his Premier League debut from the bench in the 2016/17 season against Burnley during a 2-1 win.
The England international made 245 appearances for the Hammers, scoring 15 goals, providing 13 assists and totalling 20,580 minutes played. Rice went on to become the club captain, leading his side to UEFA Conference League glory in the 2022/23 season, securing his legend status at the club.
But the 26-year-old has taken it to another level in recent weeks, being awarded back-to-back man of the match awards against Real Madrid in the Champions League, scoring two unbelievable free-kicks and helping Arsenal to secure their spot in the semi-final of the competition.
West Ham fans will be dreaming of the next wonderkid to come through at the club, having seen the success that Rice enjoyed with them. Whilst he isn’t through their own academy, they could well have their next wonderkid already on the books.
West Ham’s next wonderkid
West Ham made a significant investment during the 2024/25 summer window, spending £25.5m on a 18-year-old Brazilian from Palmeiras, with Luis Guilherme becoming Lopetegui’s first signing at the club.
However, the youngster has struggled for involvement in England this year, being given minimal chances to prove himself.
Luis Guilherme Palmeiras to West Ham comparison. When comparing Guilherme’s underlying metrics from his breakthrough season at Palmeiras, just 16-years-old, with his second season in Brazil and his first season at West Ham so far, you can see his numbers have slightly regressed, which could be attributed to fewer minutes and a tougher league.
Marcos Watts from Transfermarkt stated Guilherme would become a “top player” if he continued to develop along the same path. Whilst this seems to have stunted slightly at West Ham this season, only managing 118 minutes in his 11 appearances so far, the talent is still clearly there.
West Ham have some extremely talented wide players and attacking midfielders currently ahead of the “electric” Brazilian – as described by analyst Ben Mattinson – in the pecking order, but if he continues to work hard, there is no reason Guilherme can’t break through and start earning his minutes, going on to reach his true potential at the club.
