Five big things spotted in West Ham training for Man United and one is gravely concerning

The chastening defeat at Spurs has made for a miserable week at West Ham.

Such a heavy loss and pitiful capitulation to the club’s nearest rivals has also piled pressure back on Lopetegui.

The man in Manchester United’s dugout is feeling the heat too.

Word is that Erik ten Hag could be one heavy defeat away from the sack.

Edin Terzic has been linked with both the West Ham and Man United jobs in the last few days.

The former Hammers assistant coach isn’t the only manager being lined up by West Ham either according to one journalist.

So Lopetegui needs a win against the Red Devils.

West Ham need it too or they could find themselves just a couple of points above the bottom three.

How are preparations looking then ahead of the game?

Here’s five big things spotted in West Ham training for Man United and one is gravely concerning.

1) No sign of three key players

The Hammers’ media team released training video footage and images ahead of the match against Manchester United.

Worryingly, three fundamental players were missing from the session.

Captain Jarrod Bowen, defender Jean-Clair Todibo and midfielder Tomas Soucek all appear to be missing.

In almost five minutes of video footage from Rush Green, Bowen, Todibo and Soucek are not featured at all.

That is obviously concerning. Lopetegui did not report any any injury issues in his press conference. But we can’t read too much into that as he wouldn’t want to give Man United a leg up on team selection either way.

Hammers fans will be dearly hoping all three are available. Especially with Mohammed Kudus banned.

2) Construction work in progress at training ground

Niclas Fullkrug is the latest tale of injury woe at West Ham.

The summer signing has barely kicked a ball for the Hammers and has twice flown home to Germany for treatment.

That’s paints a sorry picture of the medical facilities and treatment at West Ham.

This week Hammers News called on the club to finally invest in a new training ground to keep pace with our Premier League rivals.

It remains to be seen whether the Hammers hierarchy ever do anything about that.

But video footage appears to show some construction work going on at Rush Green.

Scaffolding can be seen in the background as the players train. So perhaps the club is investing in improving the current facilities at least?

3) Highly-rated young goalkeeper Finlay Herrick shines

One of the biggest takeaways from the training video is that young goalkeeper Finlay Herrick featured heavily and looked excellent.

Herrick, 18, has just signed a new long-term contract until the summer of 2028, with the option for a further year.

The Academy of Football graduate first trained with West Ham at the age of six, Herrick has emerged as one of English football’s most promising young goalkeepers.

And it’s easy to see why from this footage. He is more than holding his own alongside Alphonse Areola, Lukasz Fabianski and Wes Foderingham.

Xavi Valero is said to be a huge fan and with Julen Lopetegui himself a former goalkeeper, Herrick’s future could be bright. Especially given Fabianski is likely in his last season and there are concerns over Areola’s form.

One thing we didn’t get to see is Herrick’s ability with the ball at his feet, which is obviously key in the modern game.

4) Hammers secrecy after Spurs giveaway?

Last week’s video from training rather surprisingly showed detailed tactical work the players were doing ahead of Spurs.

It made it clear West Ham were planning to try and spring counter attacks playing in tight triangles.

After being hammered 4-1 has the manager insisted the club do not give away too much from training?

Because very little footage beyond the warm-ups are shown ahead of the Man United clash.

Instead the majority of the footage shows the goalkeepers training.

Perhaps the media team just felt the ‘keepers deserve a bit of love and exposure. But the distinct lack of footage from the main session is intriguing.

5) Biggest worry and it’s been a recurring theme

The single biggest concern when watching West Ham training videos is just how quiet the training ground has become.

West Ham have lost some massive characters in recent years from Mark Noble to Declan Rice.

Then the likes of Pablo Fornals, Kurt Zouma, Ben Johnson and others have departed too.

Ex West Ham captain Nigel Reo-Coker was worried by the lack of atmosphere and characters when visiting a training session during pre-season.

It’s easy to see what he means.

Obviously players aren’t going to be all smiles and doing cartwheels after being battered by their biggest Premier League rivals.

But there’s no denying many of them look miserable and like they’re going through the motions.

The atmosphere doesn’t seem particularly great. And coming in the wake of claims there is unrest in the dressing room over the manager, it’s very concerning indeed.

Related Posts