West Ham United manager Graham Potter is privately blown away by one player who wasn’t fancied by his predecessor, Julen Lopetegui, with the squad member potentially in line for a more key role as a result.
West Ham aim for solid 2024/2025 under Graham Potter
In his first interview as Hammers boss, Potter pledged to bring a brand of entertaining football to the London Stadium, and you can make a case that we have already seen flashes of that promise over his first few games in the dugout.
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West Ham were involved in a five-goal thriller at home to Fulham, where they came out on top in a 3-2 victory and secured Potter’s first win at the club. They were also dramatically knocked out of the FA Cup by Aston Villa in Potter’s first ever game, despite holding a one-goal lead for most of the clash, with late goals from Amadou Onana and Morgan Rogers ending their cup run very early.
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West Ham’s next five Premier League fixtures |
Date |
|---|---|
|
Brentford (home) |
Today |
|
Arsenal (away) |
February 22nd |
|
Leicester City (home) |
February 27th |
|
Newcastle United (home) |
March 10th |
|
Everton (away) |
March 15th |
The Irons arguably should’ve come away from Stamford Bridge with something to show for their efforts after a promising display overall, but were instead on the receiving end of a 2-1 defeat at Chelsea, courtesy of second-half strikes from Pedro Neto and an Aaron Wan-Bissaka own goal.
Nevertheless, there are signs of promise from the first stages of Potter’s reign, as West Ham aim to finish 2024/2025 in solid fashion in preparation for the next campaign.
They currently sit 10 points above the relegation zone but too far off the European qualification places, but Potter will be keen to embed his style of play into this West Ham squad as quickly as possible ahead of 2025/2026.
West Ham signed Evan Ferguson on loan in a bid to solve their striker crisis, with both Michail Antonio and Niclas Füllkrug out injured for the long-term, while the club also decided to re-call James Ward-Prowse from his loan spell at Nottingham Forest.
Ward-Prowse was told by Lopetegui that there was no place for him at West Ham, according to some reports, with the Spaniard giving his green-light for him to go out on a temporary spell to Forest.
Graham Potter privately blown away by James Ward-Prowse at West Ham
However, it appears Potter’s stance on the 30-year-old is drastically different.
According to a report in the print edition of The Sun newspaper (via WHZ), Potter has been impressed by Ward-Prowse in West Ham training sessions since his return to the capital, and he could even start today’s clash at home to Brentford.
The tactician is also said to be keen on immediately reincorporating him into the West Ham side, so this could be one to watch over the coming games.
The Englishman – who bagged seven goals and 12 assists during David Moyes’ final campaign in charge last term – could be a major asset for the east Londoners, with Ward-Prowse’s famed set-piece specialism handing Potter a brand-new weapon for the remaining season.
