ThewolfJulen Lopetegui oversaw a truly incredible summer transfer window at West Ham United.
Julen Lopetegui made some terrific signings for West Ham in the summer, and we definitely have a better squad now than when he took over.
The West Ham head coach brought in nine new players, and got rid of much of the deadwood at the London Stadium.
And it has been claimed that the Spaniard is still in the market to bring in at least one more signing on a free transfer.
Exciting times definitely lie ahead for the Hammers, but in the here and now, every single one of us fans should be buzzing about what we might achieve this season.
The biggest example of just how far we’ve come is one simple look at three summer signings in particular.
Three stunning West Ham upgrades from Julen Lopetegui
What a turnaround we’ve witnessed at the London Stadium over the past few months when it comes to squad depth.
David Moyes left a dangerously thin and ageing squad behind for Lopetegui to inherit, when he left the London Stadium.
That meant that Lopetegui has to be ruthless and efficient in his transfer business – two things that he most definitely was.
However, there were three deals completed by the 58-year-old Hammers head coach in particular that were utterly breathtaking.
The fact that this time last year, we had a back four consisting of Kurt Zouma, Nayef Aguerd and Vladimir Coufal is actually hard to believe.
Zouma can hardly walk without breaking down now, whilst Aguerd has never been suited to Premier League football in any way whatsoever.
Meanwhile, Coufal has regressed badly over the past 12 months, and was easily getting beaten down the right hand side in pretty much every game he played last season.
Exciting new era at West Ham
Zouma, Coufal and Aguerd constantly let us down last term, and become targets for the opposition every single week.
Everything has changed now though…
Do we all realise just how insane it is that we’ve gone from those players mentioned above to having Jean-Clair Todibo, Max Kilman and Aaron Wan-Bissaka lining up alongside Emerson Palmieri and Alphonse Areola at the back?
Utterly crazy if you ask me. If someone told me at the start of the summer that those names listed above would form our defensive lineup, I would have laughed in their face.
The French centre-back, the former Wolves man and the rapid ex-Manchester United star are all easily good enough to play regularly for top six teams, maybe even sides inside the top four.
The difference in our defensive setup now really is truly staggering.
I’m not sure I have actually sat down yet, and really properly appreciated the improvements Julen Lopetegui made to the West Ham squad over the course of the summer.
Well done Julen, well done Tim Steidten and well done David Sullivan. West Ham are a proper team now – one that’s capable of competing on all fronts.
Thewolf
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