Prior to the new Premier League season, Graham Potter's apparent willingness to lower the age of West Ham's team – the second oldest in the English top flight – nothing more than a hollow promise.
It is true that the Hammers signed the 20-year-old El Hadji Malick Diouf this summer, and in all respects he has impressed teammates, club staff and supporters with his request in the preseason.
West Ham's Two free transfers are not progressive
Two other free transfers, however, fly in the face of a more youthful view of the London Stadium.
Kyle Walker-Peters has just passed Southampton for a terrible season, where the total of the attacking intention of the 28-year right back was only two assists in 33 competition matches.
Although his immense transient accuracy of 90.5% in the competition will prefer the believers in East London, supporters are used to seeing their full-backs overlap and offer additional attacking presence.
Only eight successful crosses of 51 attempt are hardly the kind of return that those who pay their money every week will excite to worship the heroes who wear the Claret and Blue.
Only 44 tackles in the entire campaign also speaks of a player who is not prepared or unable to get his foot when needed, even if 29 of them gave him a healthy success rate of 65.9%.
Kyle Walker-Peters Radar Graphic 2024/25Opta perform statistics
From the contract and without a club, former Newcastle-Man Callum Wilson was the next one to arrive from the production line of the old internships.
At the age of 33, the striker is demonstrably far beyond its best, and that is evident from the fact that he has not registered any goal or assistant in 18 Premier League performances for the Magpies last season.
Callum Wilson's terrible injury record
It is true that his total minutes of 357 in the Premier League only amount to three minutes shy of four full matches, but if the Hammers want to integrate Wilson into the Line -up and offer competition for Niclas Fullkrug, he must find it on a more regular basis.
Not to mention his terrible recent injury record.
Last season alone he missed 29 games and in the last five campaigns he had nine separate hamstring injuries, two calf injuries, a coffin and back injury and coronavirus.
Callum Wilson's recent injuries flash score
Go back to his Bournemouth days, and he had another three hamstring injuries to contend with two cruciate ligament tears and a knee injury.
If Potter and the West Ham board are so much progressive, why on earth do they sign players that nobody else wants?
Penny squeezing is in the DNA of the Hamers
It flies in the face of the story that the club seems to push satisfied through different media channels. It is even more in accordance with the usual modus operandi of the club – aimed at doing cheap business and squeezing the cast -offs of everyone if there is little they can offer, except for a different body in the team.
Another name that needs to be linked is Chelsea rejects Raheem Sterling. At the age of 30 he is another player whose best days are clearly behind him.
Raheem Sterling recently season Statsflash score
In loan at Arsenal in 2024/25, the English international was able to offer only one goal and five assists in its 28 games for the Gunners, in the competitions.
In the Premier League, only 32 of his 182 passes were ahead, which suggests that the broad man would rather cut in and play the square ball, or even the simple option back to his midfield or defense. That is not what the 'Academy of Football' needs of a winger.
Voorste, aggressive and up-tempo game with accurate passing is the order of the day, and Sterling has not been able to deliver that for a while.
Reports have also suggested that the hammers have reached a verbal agreement with Botafogo -goalkeeper John Victor Aka John, but he is also 29 years old. Although that can be considered young enough for a keeper, it is still not a progressive transfer.
Potter is known for his love to work with younger players and get the best out of it, so what happened so far this summer, the Englishman could quickly consider his options.
Champions League -Football remains a pipe dream
Important shareholders, David Sullivan (38.8%) and Daniel Kretinsky (27% under the Holdings Banner of the 1890s), are jointly worth it in the region of £ 8.54 billion, so they are certainly not short of money with which the team can be considerably strengthened.
Questions must therefore be asked from the board in terms of the amount of money they make available for transfers and exactly why they don't seem to push the boat and sign a number of high -quality players.
The issue of speculating to accumulate also does not even come into play.
When the club moved to the London Stadium, former co-chairman, David Gold, kept up to play Champions League football within five years. That would of course require significant investments on the play side, and that is demonstrably not required to the extent.
Given their 14th place in 2024/25, the irons are about as far away from the Champions League as it is possible to be, and the lack of quality in the majority of their signing sessions and potential goals this summer reveals the absolute truth about the real ambitions of the club.