West Ham United may have seen the transfer window come to a close, though they have concluded a surprise deal at the London Stadium as Graham Potter searches for unattached reinforcements.
West Ham look for togetherness with Premier League set to return
The Hammers have endured a mixed start to the Premier League campaign, and heavy defeats to Sunderland and Chelsea didn’t leave supporters feeling a great deal of optimism about what is to come.
However, a rousing 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground before the international break has stirred a little bit of excitement that West Ham could start to enter an upward trajectory, though Jarrod Bowen believes togetherness will be key to maintaining some form of momentum.
He stated: “It’s been an up and down couple of weeks,” he reflected. “The Premier League starting, you are on a high as you have waited so long for it. Then, to lose the way we did to Sunderland, followed by a defeat by Chelsea and one in the cup where we were in a good position to win the game was difficult.
“But I think the one thing we have got with this group is a real resilience and togetherness. You saw that at the weekend. I think everyone would have wrote us off at Nottingham Forest so to win 3-0, and it that could have been even more on another day, just shows that resilience to keep going even in the difficult times.”
Speculation over Potter’s position at West Ham has seen Frank Lampard mentioned as a potential successor. However, the former Brighton & Hove Albion is still firmly in charge, and will believe his side can string together a run of results in the English top-flight.
Still, his squad are short in a couple of positions, which has led Hammers chiefs to open talks over a deal for a veteran star who is known to supporters.
West Ham seal deal for Lukasz Fabianski
Despite his exit from the London Stadium this summer, West Ham have moved to bring Lukasz Fabianski back to the club on a free transfer following Wes Foderingham’s departure to join Aris Limassol.
Mads Hermansen and Alphonse Areola are the Irons’ only senior options between the sticks, creating a scenario where they have now drafted in their former stopper to fill the third-choice goalkeeper berth under Potter, with initial talks over a move reported by talkSPORT.
Labelled “world-class” by Don Hutchinson, Fabianski is now 40 years of age and has kept 55 clean sheets in 216 appearances for West Ham, becoming a reliable presence during seven years in East London.
In addition, he also shares the same ROOF agency as Niclas Fullkrug, which perhaps helped to hasten negotiations between all parties in recent days. The Polish veteran has signed on a deal until the end of the 2025/26 campaign.
Intriguingly, West Ham passed up the opportunity to sign Andre Onana on loan from Manchester United before the deadline passed last week, something that may have paved the way for their swoop to land Fabianski.