West Ham updates: Can Julen Lopetegui turn West Ham to top four contenders?

After 262 matches, 112 wins, 95 losses, 55 draws and two separate spells that span over five years, the David Moyes era at West Ham came to an end at the end of the 2023-24 season.

The Scottish manager had some bittersweet moments at the helms in East London with his style of play often sparking conversations and sometimes frustrations among the Hammers fan base.

West Ham often left it late to rise to the occasion, regularly scrapping relegation and surviving by a whisker.

However, the past three seasons saw somewhat of a turnaround at the club as the 61-year-old guided the Hammers to a memorable European campaign.

They reached the semi-finals of the Europa League in the 2021-22 season before reaching their first-ever European final in 47 years with a UEFA Conference League win over Fiorentina in Prague.

While their European title was a monumental achievement, there were concerns over the team’s pragmatic style of play. West Ham often sat back to hit the opponents on blistering counterattacks spearheaded by Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus.

This pattern albeit productive, was contrasting to the growing and expansive tactical models of the game and the West Ham fans felt they were left behind from experiencing a more advanced, fluid, dominating pattern of football.

Then came the appointment of Julen Lopetegui to turn the tides of the club, particularly in the style of play while also pushing for another European success.

But is Julien Lopetegui any different from Moyes? Those fans who buy West Ham tickets certainly hope so.

Lopetegui is not a stranger to the intensity and competitiveness of the Premier League having spent a brief stint at Wolverhampton Wanderers – guiding them to safety in the 2022-23 season after taking over the club at the bottom of the table.

The 57-year-old is a tactically flexible manager who often tweaks his formation in different variants. He sometimes sets up his team in a 4-2-3-1, 4-1-4-1, 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 as evident in his time at Wolves. Most of these formation variations are utilised more because of his player’s strengths rather than the opponents.

He is an ardent devotee of playing out from the back and as such, there will be far much less of booting long balls forward to Michail Antonio. He regularly overloads his midfield with the wingers tucking inside, creating space for the fullbacks to overload.

His common pattern of chance creation while at Wolves was through combination plays with the centre-forward, or getting more bodies into the box to be on the end of a cross.

There are key components that Lopetegui holds in high regard in the way his team plays and it is not about the position or role, it is about the quality of the personnel executing this role.

The Basque-born manager has a system that sees the goalkeeper with more of the ball, two proficient centre-backs, overlapping fullbacks who are pinpoint crossers, a midfield destroyer and a number nine who is good at combinations and heading.

While at Sevilla, Yassine Bounou and Jules Kounde made several interchanges of play, while Jesus Navas was always allowed to overlap and provide pinpoint crosses to the 18-yard box.

Former Manchester City midfielder, Fernando served as the midfield destroyer often deployed a few metres in front of the defence while Youssef En-Nesyri hugely benefited from this season as evidenced by his prolific scoring form from headers.

A big difference between his style and that of Moyes is his team’s ability to control large facets of the game even against more quality opponents. The 2019-20 semifinal against Manchester United and the final against Inter Milan are testament to his offensive approach with a long ball-playing sequence of possession.

One big theme that will bring excitement to the Hammers supporters is that there will be a shift from the pragmatic system they’re used to, to a more offensive, highly technical pattern.

During his three-year stint at Sevilla, his team recorded an average of 58% ball possession, only behind Barcelona and Real Madrid.

While his attacking pattern is well sought out, the defensive aspect of his team’s play is also very impressive. From the 2019-20 to 2021-22 season, data from Opta revealed that the Andalusian club recorded 73 clean sheets in 160 matches across all competitions. This amounted to clean sheets in 45.6% of their matches, only behind Manchester City among the European top five leagues during that period

A major factor in his team’s play was how incessantly they created goalscoring chances from open-play crosses. According to a stat from Opta, Sevilla never ranked lower than sixth in Laliga for crosses, often recording as high as 679 crosses in a season.

West Ham are already accustomed to this theme which made them threats from set pieces. But doing that from open play was less frequent. The question now is: can Vladimir Coufal – who has a meagre 21% cross accuracy from his 458 crosses – be the man to create those chances?

Or can Edson Alvarez play the villain for the Hammers, often distorting opponents’ plays while also having the ability to play out of the press?

Furthermore, can the error-prone Kurt Zouma be transformed into a confident, efficient ball-playing centre-back to suit Lopetegui’s style?

Football Talk analyzes some of the current important players in the squad as well as the best players that have been linked to the club that could make the ‘Lopetegui-ball’ come to fruition at the London Stadium.

Right-back pursuit should be prioritised

West Ham might need to consider a more offensive right-back this summer. Vladimir Coufal though solid defensively does not provide so much up front, a contrast to what Lopetegui demands from his fullbacks.

One possible option to give the team a Jesus Navas-esque kind of pinpoint crosses and attacking burst down the right flank is Gent’s right-back, Archie Brown.

The England u20 star was one of the best fullbacks in the Jupiler Pro League and his performances have put him on the radar of some European top clubs.

With bumpy rounds to and fro attack and defence, the 21-year-old is not just a threat going forward, but also defensively reliable when called upon.

Nayed Aguerd is the best ball-playing option

Aguerd’s time at West Ham has been plagued by injuries, but a fully-fit Aguerd is a world-class talent and a joy to watch for any manager.

The Morocco international is dominant in the air, and efficient on the ball. A robust tackler and a technically gifted player, Aguerd is everything that a manager needs in a modern-day centre-back.

He could prove key to the team’s build-up play and can also initiate attacking transitions from centre-back.

West Ham consider Julian Alvarez a key part of the first team

Recent reports from transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano revealed West Ham’s strong indication of keeping Julian Alavarez in the squad next season.

The report reveals Manchester United’s interest in the combative midfielder as an option being appreciated by Erik Ten Hag.

However, the Hammers are hesitant to let him go as they consider him a key player for the squad.

Alvarez could be the midfield destroyer Lopetegui needs. His ball proficiency and his robust tackling make him an archetypal fit for this role.

If the Hammers can keep him in the team, then they could be set for a remarkable season under Lopetegui.

West Ham join Jonathan David race

West Ham United have joined the race to sign prolific Lille forward, Jonathan David this summer according to transfer expert, Ben Jacobs.

The 24-year-old scored 26 goals across all competitions for Les Dogues and his performances have attracted the interest of West Ham.

According to Jacobs, West Ham are ‘considering a move for the prolific 35-G/A hitman who could become a viable asset for Lopetegui upfront.

However, Jacobs adds that the Hammers face competition for the prolific hitman as a Premier League trio of Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United are also interested in making a swoop for the Canada International.

David is expected to leave the Stade Pierre-Mauroy this summer for a €25m-30m (£21m-25m) fee according to the report.