Forum | General Discussion

Manchester United: Bayindir, De Ligt, Fernandes (C), Hojlund, Cunha, Dorgu, Yoro, Amad, Ugarte, Heaven, Mainoo
West Ham: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Aguerd, Diouf, Rodriguez, Ward-Prowse, Soucek, Bowen (C), Fullkrug Subs: Fodderingham, Walker-Peters, Paqueta, Mavropanos, Guilherme, Cornet, Scarles, Potts, Irving, Casey, Marshall, Kante, Golambeckis, Orford, Fearson

West Ham United will officially learn the verdict today regarding the betting scandal that Brazilian international Lucas Paqueta has faced.

It's been a long time coming, and the entire process has been draining for everyone, including Paqueta himself, who we've seen has lost a yard in focus since the allegation has been hanging over his head.

But, nevertheless, after all the rumours and all of the drama, the Hammers will finally find out what is true in this instance and what is not. An outcome either way will involve further action. If Lucas Paqueta IS NOT guilty, we could potentially expect Paqueta as well as the club to sue the FA for the damages caused over two years. If the Brazilian IS guilty, then it's most likely a long-term ban, and the club would probably sue him for the wages that had been paid.

All to be announced today, but it's crossed fingers until then.

Sully has made one of his classic phone calls, and year after year, he's finally got his man.

It appears that Callum Wilson will be joining West Ham this Summer Transfer window, and with the Englishman joining the club, it'll count as our eighth and final homegrown player required to fulfil the quota. By no means is Wilson a positive signing; in fact, it's exactly the opposite of what we need at the club and the opposite of what Potter is aiming for.

There are rumours circulating that Wilson would be accepted by Graham Potter but only if the player is on a 'pay-by-play' type contract, essentially meaning if the player gets injured or performs badly, the pay would be minimal and wouldn't cost the Hammers a fortune... such as Uncle Ingy. But this is also because he's likely not to start games and, at best, only cover for injury, or perhaps a substitution appearance here and there.

Is Wilson a positive signing? No. Does it allow us to spend elsewhere? Yes.

It's extremely difficult to think about the positives for the deal, but the man above will never change the club for the better, and continue to be an obstacle for the windows ahead, he's not confirmed just yet.. might fail the medical! Only time will tell, but seems like the third signing is set in stone.

Can anyone else find some positives, apart from a certain extra paycheck to another individual, I'm struggling to see why West Ham has made the executive decision to offer him a contract instead of Antonio or someone else. If we HAD to sign someone above the age of 32, we would've had the courtesy to get Antonio back, you'd suspect?

Onwards and upwards... wonder what the bookies' odds of him playing above 10 games next season are?

Our first pre-season game of the 2025/26 season against Zurich ended in a 3-1 victory for the Hammers, the goals coming through Andy Irving, Callum Marshall and Lucas Paqueta.

However, if you could look past the awful commentary alongside the utterly abysmal camera quality, you would've been able to see a rather intriguing game which showed improvements but also patterns that haven't changed whatsoever.

It was a slight difficulty to get the team-sheets done due to the fact we had two seperate lineups... which was announced before the game, the 'A' team was filled with the more senior players with the inclussion of the evergone Cornet, and the 'B' team had the majority of the returning youth players, such as Potts, Orford, Marshall as well as Diouf.

To kickstart with what we all knew already, the 'A' team midfield pairing of Guido Rodriguez as well as James Ward-Prowse were both completely run through, it was easy for Zurich to find gaps which subsequently gave them two clear-cut chances, but both wouldn't convert. But comparing 'A' to 'B' was light day and, the midfield of Potts and Orford as well as Soucek, seemed very comfortable and also could press forward more together with and without the ball, something of which we couldn't even be able to fathom under Guido and Prowse.

Our first goal was converted by Andy Irving, but the play between Bowen and Wan-Bissaka created the chance for the goal, a duo which we saw worked very well last season.

The second goal came through Callum Marshall with a lovely strike into the bottom-right corner just as the second half began. It seemed that we were able to create more chances in the 'B' team rather than the 'A'.

West Ham's latest confirmed signing in Malick Diouf, played the entirety of the second half and gave good impressions amongst fans. The Senegal international seemed to be everywhere on that left-hand side and constantly provided chances in the box either with a one-two or a cross.

He also very nearly grabbed himself a goal at the end, but a handball & clearance off the line meant that we got a penalty instead, which Lucas Paqueta converted to end the game at the finishing scoreline of 3-1.

Overall, a positive performance, but one that evidently shows that the Hammers require new midfielders in the remainder of the window. There will be more to come and more to learn with the Premier League summer series up in a week's time, but in the meantime, it's crucial that transfer business continues.

Team 'A': Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Scarles, Cornet, Rodriguez, Irving, Ward-Prowse, Bowen (C), Fullkrug
Team 'B': Foderingham, Mavropanos, Aguerd, Casey, Diouf, Potts, Orford, Soucek (C), Paqueta, Guilherme, Marshall