West Ham problem emerges after Premier League squad list revealed
West Ham have had to deal with plenty of stumbling blocks this summer.
David Sullivan isn’t popular among West Ham supporters after multiple failures in the transfer window and calls for the chairman to resign.
Performances on the pitch haven’t been good enough either, with calls for Graham Potter to be sacked after struggling with West Ham.
Another issue has now come to light, which will pile the pressure on Sullivan should results continue to go against the Hammers in the coming weeks.
West Ham leave five squad places unfilled
The Hammers faced numerous battles in the transfer window and often missed out on targets.
Mateus Fernandes was signed from Southampton for £40million, but supporters still felt that they needed one more body in midfield.
Nayef Aguerd’s exit has left the Hammers light in defence, with hopes of two new defenders being signed on deadline day.
Igor Julio was signed from Brighton on loan, but moves for Axel Disasi and Manuel Akanji fell through.
The reality of how light the Irons are has been shown by the fact that they have five vacant squad positions after submitting their list.
- After the closure of the summer 2025 transfer window, each Premier League club must submit their squad lists.
- Each squad contains no more than 17 players who do not fulfil the “Home Grown Player” criteria
- A HGP is a player who has been registered with any club affiliated to England or Wales for a period of three entire seasons before their 21st birthday
The Hammers have a squad of 20 players with nine homegrown players, leaving five spare places unfilled.
Luis Guilherme, Ollie Scarles, George Earthy, Callum Marshall, and Daniel Cummings are classed as under 21, so don’t need to be registered in the 25-man squad.
West Ham face major issues in the coming weeks
At such a crucial part of the season, squad depth is needed.
Three big games against Tottenham, Crystal Palace, and Everton are coming up, in which the Hammers will need firepower up front.
However, Niclas Fullkrug is injured after picking up a knock for Germany, and Callum Wilson and Jarrod Bowen are an injury risk.
Potter’s side looked strong in the 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest, but the fact that Nuno Espirito Santo has now been sacked shows his head may not have been fully in it.
With such a thin squad, things aren’t looking good in the long term, with injuries bound to continue.
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