By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)
West Ham have been named the likeliest Championship title winners by Sky Sports & The Guardians EFL expert George Elek — but the prediction came with a warning for Nuno Espírito Santo.
Speaking on the Not The Top 20 podcast, Elek said: “I think on the balance of probability I’m going to reluctantly say that West Ham are the likeliest league winners.” However, he also questioned the Hammers’ control of games, pointing out that Nuno’s side have come under considerable pressure at times.
It’s difficult to disagree with either part of his assessment given the Irons shoddy defending. West Ham have assembled a squad which should be challenging for the title, but we’ve also seen enough vulnerabilities already this season to know that promotion is unlikely to be the procession some predicted.
Automatic promotion has to be the target
Let’s be fair, the most enjoyable way to get promoted is via the play-offs, with a good day out at Wembley for all concerned. However, that carries far too much risk and leaves the club short of time and behind the curve when recruiting players.
Therefore, automatic promotion is definitely the best route, even if it might not be the most enjoyable. It is hardly surprising to see West Ham installed among the favourites. The club retained Jarrod Bowen, Taty Castellanos and Konstantinos Mavropanos while also breaking the Championship transfer record by spending £22million on Arne Engels.
Given the strength of the squad Nuno has at his disposal, there really can be no hiding from the expectation that comes with it.
Mavropanos has been scintillating in attack but have given the ball away cheaply in defence
Nuno has problems he can fix
The goals-against column remains an issue, but I believe it is a flaw that can be rectified. West Ham’s weak spot appears to be down the right, irrespective of whether Joël Veltman or Kyle Walker-Peters plays.
There is also a tendency to surrender possession cheaply when passing out from the back, which contributes to the lack of control Elek identified. Fixing those two issues would not solve everything, but there are certainly some relatively straightforward improvements Nuno can make.