West Ham United 2022/23: What are the new squad numbers, which numbers did Flynn Downes & Nayef Aguerd get?

With the Premier League set to get underway in just over two weeks’ time, clubs up and down the country and across the football pyramid are starting to slowly release their squad numbers.

One club that has fully released their new squad numbers is West Ham United, who defied the odds last season, qualifying for Europe after finishing in seventh place.

Some fans would have seen that as a disappointing season, with the club being up near fourth and fifth for a large portion of the season, slightly tailing away at the business end.

When does the Premier League season start?

The Premier League will begin on Friday, 5 August with Arsenal travelling to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace.

The gunners lost 3-0 in this fixture last season, in what proved to be a decisive game in the battle for the top four.

What are the squad numbers for the 2022/2023 season?

Goalkeepers

Lukasz Fabianski - 1

Darren Randolph - 33

Alphonse Areola - 13

Defenders

Aaron Cresswell - 3

Kurt Zouma - 4

Vladimir Coufal - 5

Craig Dawson - 15

Angelo Ogbonna - 21

Issa Diop - 23

Arthur Masuaku - 26

Ben Johnson - 2

Nayef Aguerd - 27

Midfielders

Pablo Fornals - 8

Manuel Lanzini - 10

Nikola Vlasic - 11

Tomas Soucek - 28

Declan Rice - 41

Conor Coventry - 32

Flynn Downes

Forwards

Michail Antonio - 9

Jarrod Bowen - 20

Said Benrahma - 22

Compared to most Premier League squads, that’s a very thin team, with David Moyes surely to add to it ahead of the new Premier League season.

What is West Ham’s first game this season?

West Ham couldn’t have had it harder for their first game as they have the unenviable task of hosting current Premier League champions Manchester City on 7 August 2022.

They then travel to newly promoted Nottingham Forest, before welcoming Aston Villa and then seeing out August by facing Aston Villa away.

As opening months go, it’s fairly hard. Forest will be right up for it as it’s their first home game in the top flight for two decades, and Villa are always a tricky opponent.

What is the expectation for West Ham this season?

It’s always hard to gauge the expectation for the football club. It was only in the 2019/2020 season that the club narrowly avoided relegation, yet here we are just two years later with the fans slightly disappointed they finished in seventh, qualifying for a European competition.

It’s probably more of the same this season, you would think.

They’ve not gone out and spent big money, which will probably widen the gap between themselves and the top four.

They signed highly rated 23-year-old midfielder Flynn Downes from Swansea who will complement Rice well in midfield. He’s a tenacious ball winner, a literal carbon copy of Rice, who is expected to leave soon.

They also signed Moroccan international Nayef Aguerd from Rennes in a deal worth £30 million, who should sure up an already decent defence.

Jarrod Bowen is expected to be one of three attackers, alongside Michael Antonio and Benrahma, who will be looking to kick on after a slow start in east London.