West Ham United’s summer rebuild has finally taken shape after nine new arrivals transformed Nuno Espírito Santo’s options following relegation from the Premier League.
Adama Boiro became the final piece of the recruitment puzzle after Athletic Club confirmed his season-long loan, including an option to buy, while Morato arrived from Nottingham Forest on Deadline Day.
The Hammers have lost enormous quality during a summer of major sales, but how strong is the squad that remains?
Goalkeepers — 7.5/10
Mads Hermansen, Alphonse Areola
This should be one of the more dependable areas of Nuno’s squad.
Hermansen already knows what a Championship promotion campaign requires after winning the division with Leicester City in 2023/24. West Ham’s official profile also notes that he established himself as Denmark international before this season.
Areola is an unusually experienced second-choice goalkeeper at Championship level.
Neither has produced an entirely convincing start to the campaign, but there is little reason for goalkeeper to become a recruitment priority.
Verdict: Plenty good enough for a promotion challenge.
Right-back — 8/10
Kyle Walker-Peters, Joël Veltman
Walker-Peters should arguably be one of the best right-backs in the Championship.
He offers experience, athleticism and the flexibility to play on either side, while he has already won promotion from this division with Southampton.
Veltman’s arrival provides experienced cover and also allows Nuno to use the Dutchman centrally when required.
There is no obvious problem here.
Verdict: One of West Ham’s strongest defensive positions.
Centre-back — 8/10
Max Kilman, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Morato, Joël Veltman, Airidas Golambeckis
Morato changes the assessment considerably.
West Ham needed another senior centre-back following Jean-Clair Todibo’s departure, and the Brazilian arrives already familiar with Nuno from Nottingham Forest.
Kilman and Mavropanos remain the established pairing, while Veltman offers another experienced alternative.
Then there is Golambeckis.
The Academy defender has already made his full Championship debut and gives Nuno another genuine first-team option rather than merely an emergency name to fill the bench.
Our West Ham Academy page should become particularly useful for tracking players such as Golambeckis as their senior roles develop.
Verdict: Good mixture of experience, familiarity and young depth.
Left-back — 7.5/10
Adama Boiro, Ollie Scarles
This would have been about a 5/10 had the window ended without another signing.
Instead, Boiro’s late arrival gives Nuno two natural left-backs.
Athletic Club confirmed the 24-year-old joins until the end of the season with an option to buy after making 45 senior appearances for the Spanish club.
Scarles no longer needs to carry the position across a 46-game Championship season.
Kyle Walker-Peters can also provide emergency cover.
There is still uncertainty because Boiro has never played English football and Scarles remains a developing player, but the position is no longer an obvious weakness.
Our updated West Ham transfer-window verdict reflects how significantly the late Boiro deal changed the final assessment.
Verdict: Potentially good enough, but more to prove than the opposite flank.
Central midfield — 7.5/10
This is probably the most intriguing part of the squad.
Arne Engels was West Ham’s biggest statement signing, with the club confirming he arrived for an EFL Championship record fee.
There are also options including Mohamadou Kanté, Lewis Orford and, once fit, Tomáš Souček.
Then come the complicated cases.
Edson Álvarez and Soungoutou Magassa remained West Ham players after the English deadline after the club’s valuations were not met, although markets elsewhere remain open. Jacob Steinberg reported West Ham wanted to retain Magassa and expected their demands to keep Álvarez in east London.
If Nuno can reintegrate both, midfield suddenly looks deep.
If neither is committed to the Championship campaign, the picture changes.
Verdict: High ceiling, but there are still questions Nuno has to resolve.
Attacking midfield and wide areas — 8.5/10
Jarrod Bowen, Manor Solomon, Divine Mukasa, Edvin Austbø, Keiber Lamadrid
This looks exciting.
Bowen remains the obvious talisman, but West Ham are no longer completely dependent on their captain to provide attacking invention.
Solomon has already scored since arriving from Tottenham and previously played a major role in Leeds winning promotion from the Championship.
Mukasa has provided the biggest early surprise.
The Manchester City loanee scored twice in the 4-2 win over Wolves and suddenly looks capable of becoming one of Nuno’s most important creative players.
He joined after spending ten years in West Ham’s Academy before leaving for Manchester City in 2023.
Austbø provides another fascinating option. The 21-year-old helped Viking win the Norwegian title and was named Eliteserien Young Player of the Year before moving to east London.
This is also where our permanently updated West Ham squad page becomes useful as Nuno settles on his preferred combinations.
Verdict: Potentially West Ham’s biggest strength.
Strikers — 8/10
Joël Piroe, Valentín Castellanos, Pablo Felipe, Joshua Ajala
The Piroe signing makes this group look considerably stronger.
He has scored 73 Championship goals across four seasons and won the Golden Boot with 19 as Leeds claimed the title in 2024/25. His West Ham loan also contains an obligation to buy.
That is exactly the profile a recently relegated club should be targeting.
Castellanos offers another established option, while Pablo’s return from injury increases the variety available to Nuno.
Ajala provides younger depth if required.
There may not be one obvious 25-goal superstar, but West Ham should not be short of attacking options.
Verdict: Piroe’s Championship pedigree raises the floor considerably.
Academy depth — 8.5/10
This could become one of the defining features of West Ham’s season.
Scarles and Golambeckis are already competing for meaningful minutes.
Orford, Ezra Mayers and Ajala are around the senior group, while Mukasa’s return has strengthened the connection with the Academy of Football even further.
Nuno has repeatedly shown a willingness to use younger players rather than merely putting them on the bench.
That matters during a season containing 46 Championship fixtures plus cup competitions.
The challenge is making sure young players are developed rather than being overused.
What is West Ham’s strongest position?
Attacking midfield and wide areas.
Bowen remains one of the outstanding players in the division, while Solomon brings proven Championship quality and Mukasa has already demonstrated his enormous upside.
Add Austbø and Lamadrid and Nuno has significantly more ways to change a game.
What is the biggest concern?
It is no longer left-back.
Instead, I’d look towards central midfield and defensive control.
Engels is an excellent building block, but Nuno needs clarity over Álvarez and Magassa.
West Ham also allowed Wolves to hit the woodwork twice before taking control on Tuesday.
Having talented defenders is different from defending well as a team.
That will be one of Nuno’s major tasks over the coming weeks.
Is this a promotion-winning West Ham squad?
It should be.
That doesn’t mean West Ham will win promotion automatically.
The opening four matches have already provided the warning.
Nuno’s side drew at Burnley, lost at home to Charlton and drew at Watford before finally beating Wolves 4-2.
Every result and upcoming fixture can be followed through our permanently updated West Ham fixtures and results page.
But squad quality cannot now be used as an excuse.
West Ham have Championship winners, experienced internationals, proven goalscorers and some of the division’s most exciting young players.
The recruitment process occasionally looked chaotic and an enormous amount of quality departed.
Yet after nine arrivals, Boiro solving the left-back issue and Morato strengthening the centre, Nuno has a squad that should be competing near the top.
Overall squad rating: 8/10
The transfer window has provided the tools.
Promotion is now Nuno’s responsibility.
