Tim Steidten has spent the last few months glued to his mobile phone. West Ham’s technical director and the man responsible for recruitment had told fans the club would have a ‘busy summer’ – and the transfer chief has lived up to that promise.
The club’s expenditure has surpassed £120million, with the likes of Max Kilman, Niclas Fullkrug and Crysencio Summerville having all completed moves to the London Stadium. At the weekend, Jean-Clair Todibo became their seventh summer signing, sealing a season-long loan move from Nice. West Ham have an option to buy the former Barcelona defender for £35m. Aaron Wan-Bissaka became the latest addition on Tuesday, completing a £15m move from Manchester United.
That they have been able to recruit Wolves’ club captain, a striker who was part of the Borussia Dortmund side that reached last season’s Champions League final, the Championship player of the year, and a player who was previously wanted by Manchester United, despite not having European football, shows West Ham mean business.
Contract lengths have also been key. Fullkrug signed a four-year contract and Summerville five years, while Kilman and Wan-Bissaka penned seven-year deals. Mail Sport understands the new recruits are in the top category for player salaries but none have broken the wage bill.
West Ham have had to be patient this summer, with some transfers having taken longer than others, but Steidten has been working around the clock to get the club’s targets over the line.
West Ham’s technical director Tim Steidten has spent the summer with his phone glued to his ear
Aaron Wan-Bissaka became the eighth signing of West Ham’s busy transfer window on Tuesday
Julen Lopetegui’s side mean business after investing some £120million in the squad
During the pre-season trip to Florida, he could be seen with his phone to his ear constantly during open training sessions and matchdays. There have been times where he and owner David Sullivan have exchanged 10 phone calls a day, while head coach Julen Lopetegui is also in daily contact with both parties.
Steidten is understood to have an extremely positive relationship with Lopetegui, unlike his predecessor David Moyes, who banned the German from entering the first-team dressing rooms at both the London Stadium and Rush Green training ground in the final weeks of last season.
While Lopetegui is consulted on targets, he is happy for Steidten to have full control while Sullivan also trusts his judgement. One thing Lopetegui is particular about, however, is the character of the players Steidten has been looking at. If he does not believe they have the right attitude, the club moves on.
Importantly, Steidten has not been restricted by financial fair play in the same way transfer chiefs at other clubs have been.
The club banked £100m when Declan Rice left to join Arsenal last summer and did not spend any money in the subsequent January transfer window.
Speaking at Lopetegui’s unveiling in July, the 45-year-old said: ‘The board and the owner did a good job in the last couple of years. We are able to spend money and don’t have to sell.
‘I know that’s really, in this time, unique, that we are quite relaxed on the financial side.’
West Ham’s recruitment has seen them opt for a mix of youth and experience. Luis Guilherme, the first summer signing, is just 18, while Fulkrug is 31 and Guido Rodriguez, who joined on a free transfer from Real Betis, 30.
Declan Rice’s move to Arsenal saw the Hammers bank over £100m which has been re-invested
The club have brought in players of all ages, with Niclas Fullkrug arriving from Borussia Dortmund at the age of 31
Meanwhile, Luis Guilherme – the first signing of the transfer window – is aged just 18!
Kilman is 27, Summerville 22, Todibo 24 and Wan-Bissaka’s arrival gives the new signings an average age of 26.
With Guilherme, Fullkrug and Summerville all providing attacking depth, the task for Lopetegui will be fitting them into a frontline that already consists of Jarrod Bowen, Mohammed Kudus, Michail Antonio and Lucas Paqueta.
The head coach is expected to play a 4-2-3-1 formation, though that shape could change with the Spaniard’s approach viewed as more flexible than Moyes. Fullkrug and Antonio will compete for the centre forward role, while Bowen, Kudus, Paqueta and Summerville will tussle for the three further attacking spots. Guilherme is expected to be eased into first team football.
Despite being charged by the FA with breaking betting rules in May, Paqueta remains available for Lopetegui, who is planning to have him in his squad for the foreseeable future. The Hammers will continue to play the Brazilian playmaker, who strenuously denies any wrongdoing, until the governing body tells them otherwise.
Sources have told Mail Sport there are no exact time scales, with more legal hurdles expected, but Paqueta is set to be available for most if not all of the season. Antonio, who is out of contract next summer, is likely to become more of an impact sub.
Loptegeui viewed the defence as a key area for improvement, with the Hammers having gone 17 games without a clean sheet in the second half of last season.
There is hope that Rodriguez will be able to help protect the backline in the role previously fulfilled by former captain Rice.
Moyes spoke repeatedly about how the loss of Rice had impacted West Ham’s defensive struggles last season.
Despite being charged by the FA with breaking betting rules in May, Lucas Paqueta remains available for Lopetegui
Max Kilman is just one of three defenders brought through the door after Lopetegui identified it as a key area for improvement
Jarrod Bowen is one of a number of players being weighed up to take on the Hammers’ captaincy
It is likely that there will be outgoings before the end of the window. Youngster George Earthy is set to complete a season-long move to Bristol City, where he will reunite with former Hammers youth coach Liam Manning. Club captain Kurt Zouma, who lost his place towards the end of last season, has been deemed surplus to requirements and is in the process of sealing a move to Dubai.
There are a number of candidates for the captain’s armband following Zouma’s departure, but Mail Sport understands Bowen is the player firmly in the frame to take on that role. While the forward captained the side in last weekend’s pre-season friendly with Celta Vigo, James Ward-Prowse and Edson Alvarez have also been viewed as possible options.
High expenditure brings high expectations and West Ham’s goal is to get back into Europe as quickly as possible. Supporters also want Loptegeui to play a more attractive brand of football than what they became accustomed to under Moyes’ management.
After 3-1 defeats against Wolves and Crystal Palace in Florida, the Spaniard made it clear his squad needed to be strengthened. Since then they have added firepower in Fullkrug and Summerville and experience in Rodriguez. With the players the Spaniard now has at his disposal, there is every reason to believe he has the tools to mount a serious European challenge this season.
