The commencement of the 2024/25 Premier League season is just over four weeks away, and West Ham United are working diligently to fortify Julen Lopetegui’s first-team squad.
While transfer news, rife with numerous rumors, dominates the Irons discourse, Lopetegui has been intensely focused on on-pitch preparations. The team enjoyed a productive week in Austria and recently drew 2-2 in a friendly against Hungarian champions Ferencvaros.
From a tactical perspective, there was much to admire: high pressing, sharp fitness, and solid positional understanding are central to Lopetegui’s strategy. Luis Guilherme particularly impressed with his electrifying pace. The 18-year-old winger, signed from Brazilian club Palmeiras for £25.5m this summer, promises to add a vital dimension to the frontline. Lopetegui appears to be seeking another quick winger to complete his attacking setup.
West Ham transfer news is buzzing. According to talkSPORT, West Ham are vying to sign Arsenal winger Reiss Nelson after agreeing to a deal for OGC Nice centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo, who seems to prefer a move to Juventus. While it might seem that technical director Tim Steidten is focusing on the backline, West Ham are reportedly leading the race for Nelson, with Arsenal seeking £25m for his sale.
Why is West Ham pushing to sign Reiss Nelson? The 24-year-old has featured 89 times for Arsenal since graduating from Hale End, scoring eight goals and adding nine assists. He has also had successful loan spells at Feyenoord and Hoffenheim. Typically playing on the right flank, Nelson would provide strong competition for Jarrod Bowen, who was West Ham’s top scorer last season with 20 goals from 44 appearances.
Since returning from his loan spell in the Netherlands at the end of the 2021/22 season, Nelson has started only once in the Premier League. With Mikel Arteta focused on winning the title, Nelson is unlikely to see more opportunities next season if he stays at the Emirates Stadium. His pace and skillful dribbling could make him the perfect complement to Bowen and potentially form a lethal partnership with fellow West Ham transfer target Jhon Duran.
Aston Villa’s Duran is one of the Premier League’s most promising young talents. He scored five goals in his first full season last year despite only starting five games and was praised as a “nightmare for defenders” by Villa captain John McGinn. Nelson needs a change of scenery, and with his speed and playmaking abilities, he could be the ideal player to draw defenders away and create space for Duran to strike. Despite limited playing time, Duran ranked among the top 1% of his positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues for goals scored per 90 minutes last season, according to FBref.
While it is difficult to draw firm conclusions about Nelson’s abilities given his limited match action in recent years, he has been praised as a “joke in training” with an “elite mentality” by former teammate Alex Iwobi. This is certainly appealing to Steidten. Nelson needs to break free and show England what he’s truly capable of. Although West Ham already has a talented team, Nelson has the skillset to rise to prominence. Together with Duran, he could form a formidable new duo.
