Alan Shearer encouraged by what he has seen at West Ham United despite defeat v Aston Villa
Alan Shearer believes West Ham fans have reason to have “pretty high hopes” for the season despite an opening-day defeat to Aston Villa.
Julen Lopetegui’s new-look Hammers squad suffered a 2-1 defeat to Villa at the London Stadium on Saturday 17 August, with heavily linked Jhon Duran, ironically, scoring the winner.
Despite this, there has been a lot of excitement around the club due to the business deals done during the summer transfer window, with a plethora of new faces being added to the squad.
Speaking via The Rest is Football podcast on Wednesday (21 August), Shearer said: “They didn’t get the result they wanted against Aston Villa, who are a very good team.
“It will take a little bit of time to bed all of those players in and get an understanding of where they are, but I would be encouraged if I were a West Ham fan. I’d have pretty high hopes.”
West Ham United open new Premier League season with defeat
Of course, Lopetegui would not have wanted to begin his tenure at the London Stadium with a defeat, but there is no shame in losing to Unai Emery’s side.
The Hammers are just one match into the new season, with plenty of time to climb up the Premier League table and above their ninth-place finish from last term.
With the amount of investment from the owners this summer, Lopetegui should certainly be able to manage that, especially linking up with the attacking talents of Lucas Paqueta, Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus.
West Ham’s next fixture is an away trip to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace, who also got their season off to a bad start with a 2-1 defeat against Brentford, so Lopetegui has another chance to prove himself.
Fans will be hoping to see more fresh faces make an entrance this time, with only Max Kilman and Guido Rodriguez given the nod in Lopetegui’s starting XI. They will also hope that Shearer is right.
In other West Ham news, the Hammers have agreed a transfer for Luizao, with a permanent transfer now on the cards.
For more West Ham news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.