Five players remain from West Ham history makers as transfer window slams shut
West Ham were flying high in the Europa Conference League just two years ago.
A lot has changed since then, with Graham Potter’s side now looking over their shoulders at the threat of Premier League relegation.
West Ham have a 22 per cent chance of relegation from the Premier League, according to Opta’s supercomputer, and plenty of supporters agree with those estimates.
It is a sad reality to see, when European football was often the goal, and now the word relegation is a regular part of supporters’ vocabulary.
Five West Ham players remain from squad that won the Europa Conference League
The days of European football seem far gone, with Potter facing the possibility of losing his job at West Ham this season.
Things started shocking as they lost on aggregate 8-1 in their opening two games.
However, West Ham’s 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest was a much better showing as there were signs of the togetherness from two seasons ago.
What has struck supporters most since their downturn in form is just how much the side has changed.
Following the closure of the transfer window, just five players from the 23-man squad that won the Europa Conference League under David Moyes remain.
The five players who remain:
- Alphonse Areola
- Jarrod Bowen
- Tomas Soucek
- Lucas Paqueta
- Freddie Potts
Nine players from the squad left this summer, including Michail Antonio, Vladimir Coufal, and Nayef Aguerd.
The last couple of seasons have seen huge changes on and off the pitch, but the Hammers must change their ways if they are going to succeed again.
West Ham must find stability again
Paqueta celebrated by imitating a phone and throwing it away in West Ham’s 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest, shrugging away late transfer speculation.
His actions were a rare showing of stability and togetherness in the West Ham squad.
If the Hammers are to do well in future campaigns, they must limit how much change they make to their squad each summer.
Change under Julien Lopetegui proved costly, and in future transfer windows, Potter must ensure that he maintains a strong core of players in his squad.
The Irons lost plenty of leaders in the summer, but they will hope that youngsters coming through can replicate the likes of Bowen, who has shown resilience in tough periods at West Ham.
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