West Ham have confirmed to Claret & Hugh that they are committed to reducing the average age of the squad as they prepare for a major summer clear-out.
The Hammers made their intentions clear after announcing that Aaron Cresswell, Lukasz Fabianski, Vladimir Coufal, and Danny Ings have all been informed they have no future at the London Stadium.
A senior West Ham source emphasised that the club is determined to inject youth and energy into the squad, particularly in the midfield.
“We have one of the oldest squads in the Premier League,” the source said. “We have to move older players to bring the average age down. Fans know we can’t keep having an older squad every season.”
The four released players are just the start, with at least six more exits expected in the upcoming transfer window. The most likely to depart include:
- Guido Rodriguez
- Edson Alvarez
- Mohammed Kudus
- Maxwel Cornet
- Emerson
Lucas Paquetá could also leave if he is cleared of betting charges, with Emerson attracting interest from Serie A clubs.
West Ham’s midfield has been shockingly slow and lacking in energy, and the club appears ready to address that issue head-on by targeting younger, more mobile players in the summer window.
This whole “oldest average squad age” excuse is pretty tiresome, in fairness.
Man City (at 27.0) have the 4th, Newcastle (26.7) the 5th and Liverpool (26.6) the 6th.
Ours is at 28.0.
So that’s the league champions, the EFL Cup champions and (likely to be) the FA Cup champions with pretty similar average squad ages to our own.
It’s poor recruitment to blame, not the age of the squad. Cristiano Ronaldo is obviously an extreme example and he’s obviously playing in a poor league, but he’s regularly scoring almost a goal a game at club and international level at 40.
Younger players help for potential future sales at a tidy profit but if they’re crap on the pitch their age means naff all.
Zouma as well. goodbye. get Fullkrug to talk Aguerd around. still say he could come good for us.
p.s. and how is this an EXCLUSIVE!? it’s not like you haven’t listed all of these names multiple times before. nothing “exclusive” about it at all, is there? i mean….🤷♂️
Moyes legacy coupled with poor recruitment last year. Don’t disagree with this as long as we have sure replacements lined up. Personally I’d have got another season out of Cresswell and Fabianski but let all the rest go, including Paqueta. We have Aguerd to return, Earthy isn’t ready nor are the remainder young players excl. maybe Potts. Keep Guillerme. However good benchwarmers this year for experience AND use them properly to bring them on. To be seen if Dildo splashes the cash as is required or plays his normal games.
Reducing the squad average age is fine. Reducing the number of good experienced players less so.
Antonio?
Mavrapanos
Aguerd
The list could go on…