Graham Potter is prepared for wholesale changes at West Ham this summer in order to focus on a more youthful side.West Ham manager Graham Potter is planning a ruthless clear out of first team stars this summer in order to make way for a new era at the club.
On Wednesday, The Guardian carried reports of the Hammers offering a contract to Lille midfielder Angel Gomes ahead of the player becoming a free agent this summer. In that report, a mass exodus of first team stars was also touted with seven players supposedly set to leave the London Stadium.
The former Brighton and Chelsea manager is keen to put his own stamp on the West Ham team with a focus on adding more ‘dynamism’ and ‘youth’ to an ageing squad. The report claims that Potter is happy with the team’s defensive progress but now wants improvement in possession and attacking flair – hence the interest in Gomes.
Graham Potter plans West Ham clear out
West Ham are supposedly set to transfer list four players. The first is centre-back Konstantinos Mavropanos, who arrived at the club from Stuttgart for £20 million in 2023.
The Greek international has gone on to make 60 appearances for the club but has seen Jean-Clair Todibo and Aaron Cresswell preferred by Potter in a five at the back system. Todibo is currently on loan at West Ham but the club has an obligation to buy the player for £34 million this summer.
Elsewhere in defence, full-back Emerson Palmieri could also be offloaded this summer. The former Chelsea man made the move from Stamford Bridge for £13 million in 2022 and had been first choice under David Moyes. However, the emergence of Ollie Scarles has limited minutes and the highly-rated youngster is set to make that berth his own.
Former West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui recruited Guido Rodriguez and Niclas Fullkrug last summer as he prepared for the current campaign, the former on a free transfer and the latter for £27 million from Borussia Dortmund.
Rodriguez has played just two minutes of Premier League football since the start of February and Fullkrug has been ravaged by injury this season. Those players are 30 and 32 years old and the club is said to be open to offers to move the first team stars on and make way for youth.
West Ham stance on loan stars
Meanwhile, Danny Ings is out of contract at the end of the season and the 32-year-old is set to be released. Carlos Soler and Evan Ferguson are both on loan at the London Stadium and The Guardian claims that the club is ‘not expected to pursue permanent deals’ for those players.
Speaking in his first ever press conference as West Ham manager, Potter took no time in pointing to his preference for youth and working with the academy. He said: “The Academy is something that is central to this Club.
“I think our supporters like to see players from the Academy pushing into the first team, and I think it can help us in terms of how we identify players and how we think about recruitment. I think the starting point should always be to look at what we’ve already got here.”
