Following their comfortable negotiation of the UEFA Conference League Play-Off Round, a second successive campaign of European football awaits West Ham in the 2022/23 season.
It was a memorable debut UEFA Europa League appearance for The Hammers last season, with wins in the knockout rounds against Sevilla & Lyon bound to live long in the memory of supporters starved of European football. Undoubtedly, the memories of last season will build the appetite for further European success.
West Ham fans will have to make do with the slightly less glamorous UEFA Conference League, rather than the Europa League, for this season. However, it is a competition which they really ought to take seriously. Should they go all the way and win it, it gives them a path back to the Europa League, in addition to the more significant appeal of only a second European trophy since 1965.
As importantly, West Ham have been able to produce results in the Premier League. Sixth and seventh placed finishes in the last two seasons have led to the recently concluded and currently ongoing European campaigns to be possible.
In order to increase their chances of success within their battle on both fronts - Europe & England, their current summer transfer spend sits at a hefty £163.9 million (Transfermarkt).
A rough start
Although it is still very much early days, West Ham's start to their Premier League campaign hasn't been ideal. Most recently, a vital win at Villa Park helped them get off the mark in the points and goals tally for the season. This followed home defeats to Manchester City and Brighton, either side of a futile trip to newly-promoted Nottingham Forest.
Amongst the new faces, Gianluca Scamacca, Thilo Kehrer and Emerson Palmieri are the three which have managed to make their first West Ham league starts, up until now. Maxwel Cornet has started both European games, in addition to two league appearances off the bench. Midfielder Flynn Downes was subbed on during both of the European games and their league opener against Manchester City. While Nayef Aguerd (injured) and Lucas Paqueta (signed yesterday) are the names which West Ham supporters eagerly await to see in action.
Hangover from last season
Whether the rough start to their domestic campaign this season can be attributed to the process of bedding in the new signings, an adaption to life without Mark Noble, just a poor run of form, or anything else - the poor results are an issue which go back to the end of last season.
This is by no means a call for panic towards West Ham supporters. The squad's focus evidently switched towards the Europa League at this stage of the season - a viable excuse for the drop off in league form during the last 10 games of the Hammers' 2021/22 season.
However, what this inability to effectively compete in all games during the end of spring showed, was that the West Ham squad was simply incapable of lasting an unusually gruelling fixture list at this time of year.
When at their best and freshest, early in the season, West Ham proved that they were able to compete with the top teams of the league. Following their 3-2 win over Liverpool in early November of last season - just under a third into the season, they were in the lofty heights of third place in the league.
This suggests that the issue of squad depth would have been a more pressing concern to address for the West Ham hierarchy and manager David Moyes, rather than a lack of quality.
It was heavily expected among the fanbase that there would have been some significant spending in the January window, earlier on this year. It was at the turn of 2022, when the early season form and quality of play began evidently wearing off. While it was always going to be a tall ask to maintain the heights of third place, there was a danger that their season may have unravelled, with the Europa League knockout rounds still to come, at that point.
However, a non-active January window was fairly well justified - David Moyes and his players still salvaged a European finish in the league and a semi-final appearance in their first ever Europa League knockout round outing, even though there was a bit of a stumble over the finish line.
The summer spree
The lack of spending in January foreboded what was going to happen this summer. There was money for West Ham to spend and a result of this aggressive investment has been, seemingly, a significant improvement to the quality and, more significantly, depth of the squad.
Now, this is a squad which seems much more capable of competing in both the domestic league and Europe. West Ham find themselves in an unfamiliar position of, in some positions, having multiple, high-class players to choose from and rotate.
A total of 44 starts for Michail Antonio last season may have been the main cause for his goalscoring form disappearing with the start of their Europa League campaign and not being rediscovered since. Without the presence of another recognised striker in the West Ham squad of 2021/22, Antonio had to bear the brunt of their intense fixture list. It is worth giving the Jamaican international some credit for maintaining a very respectable level of contribution towards his team's performances, even without getting on the scoresheet often enough himself.
Antonio is a player who relies heavily on his impressive physical attributes - his freshness is vital for him to effectively utilise these abilities and be at his frightening best.
Consequentially, the £32 million signing of Gianluca Scamacca from Sassuolo will benefit West Ham in multiple ways. The 23-year-old Italian international is arriving off the back of a 16 goal season in the Serie A. In addition to signing a seemingly ready-made player to match West Ham's current ambitions, his age is also a sign that the Italian may be in East London for the long haul.
Scamacca's presence will limit Antonio's time on the pitch and West Ham's leading Premier League goalscorer should, actually, feel positive about this prospect.
With West Ham's participation in the Conference League, it will be another hectic season, with two games a week being the norm either side of the World Cup break in the winter. Antonio and Scamacca should both have plenty of game time in the Premier League and Europe - the split work rate, thanks to the rotation of the pair, is something which will allow both of them to remain fresh and at their best.
Lucas Paqueta
The showpiece signing of the summer. West Ham faced Lucas Paqueta in the quarter-final of the Europa League, in April. After getting that first taste of the London Stadium, the Brazilian midfielder will now be a more regular face in East London.
After a major move from his home country's Flamengo to A.C. Milan in January 2019, he struggled to have an impact in Italy. Milan cut their losses and shipped him on to Lyon late in the 2020 summer window. His time at Lyon has been a successful one, proving that Paqueta has what it takes to perform on the European continent.
He should fit into West Ham's current system as the number 10, with the potential of an exciting new-signing-partnership between himself and Scamacca. It may appear a bit puzzling to some that Paqueta has ended up at West Ham - a move of a player of his quality and reputation to one of the top clubs in Europe wouldn't have come as a surprise.
Transfermarkt quotes a transfer fee of £38.7 million costing West Ham for the services of Paqueta. While this is a significant investment, it is one which should improve the quality of the squad, substantially.
At 25 years of age, Paqueta has earned 33 caps for Brazil. His performances for Lyon last season have been impressive and, in some areas, his numbers from last season surpass some of the Premier League's current stars.
It is worth considering the differing levels of the Premier League and Ligue 1, when interpreting these figures. In all aspects analysed here, Paqueta is able to, at the very least, hold his own against Mason Mount and Bruno Fernandes. The Brazilian even significantly outshines both in total successful actions, successful dribbles and duels won per game.
Considering that this comparison sets Paqueta up against two established, proven Premier League stars, it is justifiable for West Ham supporters to feel excited by his arrival and what he can contribute towards the current squad.
Nayef Aguerd
Following his £31.5 million move from Stade Rennais, Aguerd looked set to fit in well into the West Ham backline. His extreme amount and completion percentage of long passes (98th percentile of Top 5 European league centre backs) would fit in well with Moyes' style of play - not focussing too much on consistent playing out from the back. Standing at over 6'2", he would be a serious physical presence and set piece threat, as well.
Unfortunately, he picked up a serious ankle injury during West Ham's pre season friendly at Rangers. Aguerd underwent surgery and is set to be sidelined for a few months from now.
To address this, West Ham went back in the market for another centre back. They recently signed Thilo Kehrer from PSG - who had to be rushed into the 11 for their Conference League play off first leg, amid their crisis at the heart of defence. Angelo Ogbonna - returning from a major injury, Kurt Zouma - carrying a suspected knock, Craig Dawson - injured, in addition to Aguerd being on the sidelines, proved the existence of the immediate issue, at that time.
When fully fit, West Ham may have five quality centre backs to choose from. There have been rumours of Craig Dawson moving closer to home, up north, in the remaining days of this window. Aston Villa, having centre back issues of their own, appear interested and may be the optimal solution for all parties.
However, with Aguerd's return being still some way away, it may be unwise of West Ham to weaken this area, until January, at least.
The unaddressed issue
Seemingly, the only area of concern for West Ham will be the holding midfield area. Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek have been a partnership which have served The Hammers to a high standard in the last few years. However, with the lack of alternative options in that area being an issue last season, this hasn't been addressed in the summer.
The signing of 23-year-old Flynn Downes aimed to help fill the on-pitch void left by the departure of club legend, Mark Noble. However, David Moyes hasn't been too impressed with how Downes has looked, so far.
“I think we need to give him a bit of time,” Moyes said on Downes last weekend. “As I said, he would have played (against Viborg in the first leg) if it wasn’t for his toe. The things I’ve seen of him, he needs to do better and we’re already [working on that] but we’ll get him a game when we can".
Subsequently, Downes had a 23 minute cameo in the second leg against Viborg. It is concerning that Moyes came out and spoke so openly about Downes' struggles to adapt to his transition from Swansea.
There may be a worry amongst the fans that last season's experience with Alex Kral will repeat itself. The Czech Republic international played a total of four minutes in the Premier League, in his only appearance at Watford. His three starts in 2021/22 came in the EFL Cup against Manchester United, in the Europa League against Dinamo Zagreb (after West Ham already won the group) and F.A. Cup against Kidderminster Harriers.
Unsurprisingly, West Ham had no interest in retaining the services of Kral. However, they have also decided against, up to now, adding an additional option to their squad, in that position.
The return of Conor Coventry from his loan at MK Dons means that he may be in 'fourth place' in the holding midfield depth chart at West Ham.
Manuel Lanzini may well be called in to play a deeper role, as he had done on a few occasions last season, if needed. But with Downes' apparent struggles early on, the issues in the central midfield area may become apparent as the season wears on. West Ham will be hoping, much like last season, that Rice and Soucek can stay fit and as injury-free as possible, from now until May.
Conclusion
West Ham have gone big this summer transfer window. Seemingly, their squad has benefitted significantly in terms of quality and depth, which is to be expected after spending over £160 million.
Whether or not the new men at East London, most notably the likes of Gianluca Scamacca and Lucas Paqueta, will be successful transfer stories, we will only know towards the end of their debut season (or even beyond that).
Investment was most certainly required into this squad, last season's stumbling over the finish line proved that. It will be no easy feat to maintain the success achieved in the last two years. However, it should give West Ham the chance to effectively compete in the Premier League and Conference League, over the course of the whole season.