West Ham news: Opinion – ‘It’s not a one window fix for Potter’

It seems like every single summer is a ‘big one for West Ham’. This summer, though, is probably as big as it is going to get.

After all of the success David Moyes brought to the club, the struggle and disappointment the 2024-25 campaign has led to so much work needing to be done in order to get the club back towards where it arguably should be – competing for European qualification.

Graham Potter was able to make some improvements after replacing Julen Lopetegui in January but it is plainly obvious it will need more than one summer to fix all of the problems he inherited in east London.

Once again, we need a striker. One who can both score goals and stay fit, not just one or the other.

Meanwhile, the midfield is in need of an overhaul. All season it looked slow, unbalanced and largely ineffective. It means there are serious questions over the futures of Guido Rodriguez, Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse.

Then, there is the question marks over Lucas Paqueta, who failed to register an assist in 2024-25, and Mohammed Kudus, whose performances throughout the campaign failed emphatically to explain why anyone would even consider paying £80m-plus for his services this summer.

It is made all the worse by the fact we are hearing rumours the club cannot afford another summer of big spending.

What do I expect to happen? A handful of free transfers and a bunch of relatively unknown players who will arrive from the continent for bargain fees.

There might be one or two ‘big signings’ made possible by the sale of Paqueta or Kudus – perhaps both – but it is likely to be a relatively underwhelming window on the surface.

Other than that, we have to make peace with the fact this will not be a one-window fix for Potter.

Find more from James Jones at We Are West Ham