Julen Lopetegui to sell five West Ham United players, Kurt Zouma exit on cards
Frank McAvennie has urged West Ham United to move Kurt Zouma, Angelo Ogbonna and Konstantinos Mavropanos on in the summer transfer window.
Ogbonna is out of contract at the end of this season, while Zouma has just one year left on his deal – though Mavropanos is tied down until 2028, having only arrived last summer.
But McAvennie – speaking exclusively to West Ham Zone – feels the trio need replacing, with Julen Lopetegui backed to sell five players.
“Zouma, Ogbonna, [Mavropanos] – I’d let the three of them go,” he said. “Go and play football somewhere else.
“I’d get two or three good ones in. Or two and there must be a decent centre-half coming through from within.
“I’d bring in a central midfield player. I think there’ll be about five players – if [Lopetegui] comes in, he’ll want five players out right away.
“There’s players in that dressing room not getting a game. Who knows, it might be better for Ings, because he might not want to play the way David plays. I don’t know what kind of football [Lopetegui] plays, he may go 4-4-2, who knows? We might be lucky.”
Should West Ham United let Kurt Zouma, Angelo Ogbonna and Konstantinos Mavropanos leave?
Ogbonna will be 36 before the 2024/25 campaign begins and it would certainly be understandable if West Ham chose to let his contract expire.
Zouma, too, despite his status as club captain, would leave for free next summer unless he signs a new deal and his performances have done little to convince that he is worth keeping into his thirties.
Mavropanos, however, at the age of 26 and on a long-term deal, could be a player worth persisting with, unless a significant offer comes in for his services.
Incoming head coach Lopetegui is expected to oversee a significant squad overhaul this summer – it remains to be seen which players are left and which new faces have arrived when the dust settles.
In other West Ham news, Jarrod Bowen has revealed what he told David Moyes in a farewell chat.
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