'Way off' - Former Hammer warns West Ham they must address transfer needs urgently to avoid 'huge pressure'

West Ham have been told they must address their squad urgently if they want to avoid being in trouble this season. The Hammers are off to an awful start to the season, losing heavily to newly promoted Sunderland and then Chelsea, conceding eight goals and scoring just once.

Graham Potter failed to turn things around last season after taking over in January, and he will be concerned about his job after a poor start to this campaign, although Karren Brady has said the club will remain patient.

Then again, Potter can feel hard done by amid a disappointing summer of business from West Ham, who have not properly replaced Mohamed Kudus, while they need to replace Edson Alvarez in the midfield, keeping in mind the transfer window shuts on Monday.

Issuing his verdict on a worrying situation at the London Stadium, former Hammer Nigel Winterburn told LondonWorld: “West Ham are usually okay in terms of what they are looking to try to achieve, but it’s so difficult. Graham Potter will need time to readjust the squad, but boy, oh boy, those first two performances are way, way off the pace of any team in the Premier League, I don’t even care if you’ve just been promoted.

“I’m going to assume that he is going to be under huge pressure because he is going to be under pressure from the supporters. They haven’t really spent anything, have they? Let’s be honest. Kudus has gone, they have brought in a couple of players, but Kudus and Bowen were the energy, and one has gone.

“I didn’t see a lot of West Ham towards the end of last season beyond the highlights, but I watched the game live the other day, and they started okay and had the goal disallowed, but once Chelsea got ahead, they just collapsed. If I’m honest, I don’t see how that squad will be anywhere near where they want to be, or should be.

“Obviously, they have had their ups and downs, I was at the club when they got relegated, but since then, they have been a lot more stable, had a European victory, but I just don’t think they have replaced enough players with anywhere near enough quality. If it stays the way it is with that squad, I see it being a struggle, and then if the board panic, who knows what can happen. I understand the concern, and I always say we are early and we shouldn’t judge too early, but when you’ve had two performances like they had, it just feels like it should be way better than it has been.”

Sterling to West Ham links

One player West Ham have been linked with in the last week or so is Chelsea star Raheem Sterling. But with the Blues reportedly commanding around £20million, Winterburn believes the Iron could be better off looking elsewhere.

“I think if West Ham spend £20million on Sterling…at this moment in time, I know he didn’t get lots of game time at Arsenal, but I think a lot of supporters would not be pleased,” added the former defender. “That’s not a criticism of Raheem Sterling, he has been a terrific player, but I would suggest they might look at other areas and that £20million might be better shoring other areas up at this moment in time.

“They just haven’t done any transfer business that excites me, and obviously, I’m looking from the outside, so it would be interesting to see what the West Ham fans think of what they have done. They have done very little, and I don’t know why that is or the financial state of the club, but I know that if they are where they are after the transfer window closes, it’s going to be a struggle.”

Your next West Ham read, 'Talks ongoing' - West Ham are now pushing for spark valued at £14.6m