Hammers News

The deal which takes Antonin Kinsky to West Ham United comes 12 months after the Czech Republic glovesman marked his Tottenham Hotspur debut with a stellar display against Liverpool in the EFL Cup.

A rare domestic positive in a miserable 2024/25 campaign, and a flying start which the £12.5 million signing from Slavia Prague would struggle to build upon.

Spurs won 1-0 on that January night – Lucas Bergvall putting Ange Postecoglou’s team within touching distance of the EFL Cup final – with Antonin Kinsky the star of the show. The talk of Tottenham town.

As West Ham reportedly close in on the Spurs goalkeeper – The Sun report that talks are underway regarding an initial loan deal – the hope in East London will be that they get the Kinsky who blossomed against Liverpool rather than the one whose fumbles cost Tottenham dear against Aston Villa and Newcastle.

How do you FEEL about West Ham signing Antonin Kinsky? 🧤 🇨🇿

A mistake? Or a masterstroke?

West Ham United, though, are getting themselves a 22-year-old shot-stopper with unshakeable self-confidence, an insatiable desire to flatten those weaknesses, and one who may feel he has a point to prove.

Antonin Kinsky made a ‘phenomenal’ start at Tottenham as West Ham United chase him a year on

That stellar debut against Liverpool a year ago was the first of only 11 appearances Kinsky has made for West Ham’s bitter London rivals.

A magnificent reaction save to deny a pirouetting Darwin Nunez was the highlight of his debut. The highlight of his entire Tottenham career, really.

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“He was phenomenal, honestly,” Spurs striker Dominic Solanke told Sky Sports at full-time. “He came three days ago and one or two training sessions with us.

“To look that comfortable out there and confident, I can’t give him enough credit. He looked like a natural out there, like he had been training with us for years, especially at his age as well.”

“[Kinsky] handled himself outstandingly’, Ange Postecoglou said, while club legend Clive Allen called it one of the best debuts he had seen in recent years.

The honeymoon, though, would last only a few weeks.

Liverpool would come roaring back in the second-leg of that semi-final, winning 4-0 at Anfield. Kinsky gifted Arne Slot’s team their second of a thumping victory as he hared off his line and fouled a stampeding Nunez. Another error would come as Spurs exited the FA Cup, palming a Jacob Ramsey shot into his own net.

And in what is likely to be his final appearance for Tottenham, Kinsky misjudged Fabian Schar’s opener and then found himself in no-mans land as Nick Woltemade headed Newcastle into the next round of the Carabao Cup.

Errors litter Spurs spell but Kinsky has been likened to Petr Cech and Manuel Neuer

After West Ham opened the door for Mads Hermansen to leave after only a few months and five appearances, there is very little evidence in Kinsky’s Tottenham spell to suggest he would be much of an upgrade.

Mads Hermansen has a shocking record…

He has to be the worst-ever signing for West Ham in the Premier League…

The Hammers are taking a risk. But a calculated one, perhaps, on a 22-year-old goalkeeper playing behind a usually-ramshackle Tottenham backline.

One who has drawn comparisons with Manuel Neuer and even Czech legend Petr Cech. One who kept 20 clean sheets in 30 games for Slavia Prague, and who possesses a passing range many midfielders would be proud of.

From Tomas Soucek to Vladimir Coufal and El Hadji Malick Diouf, meanwhile, West Ham’s track record when it comes to signing players from the Czech Republic speaks for itself.

“He’s a big pro. He works on himself all the time,” Martin Shejbal, who worked with Kinsky at Pardubice in 2023/24, told BBC Sport following his move to Tottenham. “He got to the top thanks to the fact that he works harder and more than other players and goalkeepers.”

“He is open to alternative methods of everything. We spent hours talking about various ways of preparation.

“It’s not always easy for a coach to work with a player like that, because sometimes what he did was not right. On the other side, exactly that mentality makes him an exceptional person and it helped him to achieve what he did.

“I would rather say there are similar personalities [between he and Chelsea icon Cech],” Shejbal added. “Cech was a great professional. When he did some mistakes in the national team’s games, he never really made a victim out of himself, he would not be drowned in regret. Kinsky is the same.”

“I expect him to become a really quality Premier League goalkeeper.”

“He’s a bit like Petr Cech in that he’s very goal-orientated,” agreed Karol Tvaroh, a Czech pundit who spoke to The Athletic last year. “He really has a good filter, which helps in this world of social media. It allows him not to listen to that noise and just to focus on his craft.

“But I think his biggest strength is how he can influence the team. That might be quite abstract, but I believe goalkeeping can have an aura. Kinsky’s saves calm his team-mates down because at times it seems like there’s no way he can concede.”

Kinsky could bring a new dimension to Nuno Espirito Santo’s side

So that’s Cech and Neuer, two of the best and most influential goalkeepers of the 21st century. Good company to keep, certainly, even if Kinsky has barely even scratched the surface of their acheivements.

Those Neuer comparisons emerged largely because Kinsky, when his Slavia Prague team were in possession, would often position himself outside of the penalty box. A ‘sweeper keeper’, of sorts.

A goalkeeper/playmaker, the type of which they hoped they were getting in Hermansen, and clearly don’t have in the old-school Alphonse Areola.

“He reminds me of Manuel Neuer,” a scout for an unnamed Bundesliga team told The Athletic. “His style has some differences, but he seems bigger than he really is. He has presence and gives off a sense of not being afraid.”

Considering the environment Antonin Kinsky is set to walk into at West Ham, and considering the doubts surrounding him following a few high-profile errors down the road at Tottenham, the youngster’s famed self-belief may be needed more than ever.

Interestingly, Cech actually scouted Kinsky on behalf of Chelsea when he was playing for the Czech Republic’s Under-16 side. The Blues would not make a move, but the teenager earned himself an admirer in his nation’s greatest-ever glovesman.

“You could see that he was strong, with his feet,” Cech told Flashscore, Kinsky already mastering something his idol never really got to grips with in the Pep Guardiola-influenced era.

Alphonse Areola has accumulated plenty of critics since arriving at West Ham United, especially in the last few weeks, but Saturday’s 2-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur saw Guglielmo Vicario enter the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

Callum Wilson bundled home the winner in the third minute of stoppage time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

And while Spurs’ number one took issue with the nature of West Ham United’s victory, the VAR quickly found in Wilson’s favour. Guglielmo Vicario, under pressure from the veteran striker, flung an arm at Ollie Scarles corner, missed it completely, and was reduced to a rather unedifying attempt to have the goal chalked off for a foul which existed in his mind and his mind alone.

The chances of escaping relegation just went up 👆

Earlier in the month, Alphonse Areola gifted Brighton and Hove Albion a point in similar circumstances. Nuno Espirito Santo was ‘disappointed’, and no wonder. One of the Hammers’ best performances on his watch undone as the experienced Frenchman palmed a cross straight at the feet of a grateful Joel Veltman.

But for former Upton Park boss Alan Pardew to suggest that Areola is as much an Achilles heel from set-pieces as Vicario at Tottenham, well, that feels a little harsh.

Alan Pardew questions West Ham United goalkeeper Alphonse Areola

Albeit a few weeks before Veltman was handed a tap-in on a silver platter at the London Stadium, Nuno was singing Alphonse Areola’s praises. For all his faults, and there are many in the 32-year-old’s game, Areola had made a massive impact when it came to improving West Ham’s hitherto-abysmal set-piece record.

While Mads Hermansen tended to stay stock-still on his line – as emphasised by those heavy defeats at the hands of Chelsea, Sunderland and Tottenham – Areola likes to come flying out before punching anything in his path.

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Sometimes the ball, sometimes the face of an opposition player. Morgan Gibbs-White got a ‘whack’ for his troubles before converting a late penalty in Nottingham Forest’s 2-1 win a fortnight ago.

But the point still stands. Areola might have blundered against Brighton and Forest, but the former Real Madrid, Villarreal and Paris Saint-Germain keeper has at least given West Ham some physicality when defending corners and set-pieces. A little bit of added aggression, and someone willing to put themselves in the line of fire.

In a sense, Areola is cut from the same cloth as centre-half Konstantinos Mavropanos. Error-prone and occasionally clumsy, yes, but surely a net-positive in a season where set-pieces are king.

“Everybody just puts [their crosses] under the bar now,” Pardew tells talkSPORT, pinning the blame on Vicario for West Ham’s first away win since August at the City Ground.

“And you know what? I’ve been the centre-half [playing alongside] a goalie who was not great at crosses, who made the wrong decision, flapping at them, you know, missing them, getting himself in the wrong position, not strong enough, etc, etc…

“When you are defending, in that position when there’s all bodies around you, the centre-halves can’t jump properly. You can’t get off the ground.

“So, I don’t blame the centre-backs or any defenders in that situation. That’s a goalie problem, that [Wilson] goal.

“You cannot have a goalie who will not dictate at crosses. You’re asking for trouble. And actually, West Ham have got the same problem. He’s been a brilliant shot-stopper, but he’s very, very, very inconsistent on set-plays and dealing with [crosses].”

Pardew wants Nuno Espirito Santo to sign a replacement

West Ham are in hot pursuit of Bento but he does not fancy them…😖

What would YOU do to convince him to join?

West Ham have already reinforced their frontline with the additions of Taty Castellanos and Pablo Felipe, even if Nuno needed Wilson to roll back the years on Saturday. Defensive reinforcements are still a must, while a number of goalkeepers have also been linked. From Chelsea’s Filip Jorgensen to Tottenham’s Antonin Kinsky.

West Ham reportedly made a bid for Bento Matheus, Al-Nassr’s Brazil international at the beginning of January.

Unsurprisingly, given his criticism of Areola’s performances, Pardew is backing West Ham’s goalkeeper pursuit.

“I really worry for them defensively,” he said before his old employers picked up successive wins against QPR and Spurs. “I look at the centre-backs. You know, when I talk to West Ham fans who go every week, they’re telling me that there’s a continuing issue in that area.

“That’s the area, and the goalkeeper, the communication between those three.

“Set plays; keep conceding, keep conceding. They look vulnerable. People are bending it under the crossbar on purpose because the keeper is making poor decisions. [Areola] makes unbelievable saves, but there’s stuff about his game at the moment that is fundamentally flawed.”

West Ham United winger Crysencio Summerville gave the Tottenham Hotspur defenders nightmares on Saturday afternoon.

Summerville scored West Ham’s opener against Tottenham and helped his team earn a vital three points against their fierce rivals.

After the Hammers’ win on Saturday, Summerville declared his love for West Ham.

The fleet-footed 24-year-old winger has shown some really exciting form for the Hammers over the past few weeks.

If you could only keep ONE of these two players in January – who would it be?!

And Nuno Espirito Santo must realise that he will need to lean heavily into the former Leeds United star’s quality moving forward.

The way that he had the Spurs defenders on the back foot all game was a joy to watch for the West Ham fans.

Tottenham fans will be concerned after what Summerville said about Spurs defenders

The 24-year-old Hammers star was unplayable at times in north London on Saturday.

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Summerville shared his delight after winning away at Tottenham, when speaking to the club’s official website.

“Right now, I’m very excited and happy,” Summerville said. “To get the win and three points in a place like this is great, and I think we really fought as a team today.

“Personally, I feel I’m in a good space. I was really happy to score – I think they knew that I’m dangerous in a one-on-one situation, so I took them on, took a shot and it went in. There was a deflection, but it’s my goal for sure!

“Obviously they came back to 1-1, and it was important that we stayed calm. It maybe could have gone either way, but this time it went ours, and we’re delighted to come away with the three points. Hopefully we can build on the positives now.”

If you’re a Tottenham fan reading that, you will surely be really concerned.

Summerville highlights major Tottenham weakness

It was painfully obvious to see that the Spurs defenders were scared stiff when Summerville had the ball.

How big of a MISTAKE would letting Callum Wilson leave prove to be?

Be interested to hear if ANYONE thinks it’s a good idea…

Thomas Frank is hanging onto his job by his fingernails right now.

Tottenham have been awful this season.

Let’s be honest here; West Ham have been atrocious as well, and for Spurs to lose at home to Nuno’s side was simply unacceptable in the eyes of their fans.

The only solution for Spurs will surely be to fire Frank.

The longer they keep him in the job, the more problems will be lying in wait for them moving forward.

Callum Wilson scored with a quarter of his touches during West Ham United’s stunning 2-1 London derby triumph over Tottenham Hotspur on a statement Saturday afternoon in the capital.

Four touches of the football, around ten minutes on the pitch, two shots, and one potentially season-saving, point-blank range tap-in.

Much of the talk at West Ham United this January has been about Nuno Espirito Santo’s shiny new strikers; Taty Castellanos and Pablo Felipe started together for the first time in claret and blue at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Late drama 😍😍 Give us your three-word review to West Ham’s win over Spurs!

Wilson, though, would step off the bench to prove that there is still room in the Hammers toy box for something, well, more analogue.

A 93rd goal of his long Premier League career. And this could yet be one of the most impactful. Wilson avoided the dreaded VAR as he pounced on a Guglielmo Vicario flap.

Suddenly, suggestions that West Ham could terminate Wilson’s contract feel like one of those ‘seconds from disaster’ stories.

Castellanos and Pablo have both made a positive early impression. Crysencio Summerville is back on the Premier League scoresheet for the first time since October 2024. But, even if you spend £44 million in search of it, there is no substitute for instinct and experience.

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Callum Wilson reflects on West Ham United’s dramatic Tottenham triumph

Wilson now has five goals in just eight league starts as a West Ham player. One every 162 minutes on average, per WhoScored.

“You get put on to do a job, no matter if that’s five minutes or 50,” Wilson told reporters as he moved to within seven of century in England’s top flight, via BBC Sport. “Throughout my career I’ve always tried to be professional, and I did that today.”

“It was checked and cleared. Harmless really! Sometimes goalkeepers get too much love and you can’t touch them, but the other way round they can shove you. It’s a contact sport.

“Any club winning games is important, whether it’s the cup, or even just in small-sided games in training. Then it extends onto the field. Getting back-to-back games is something to build on.”

Wilson pays tribute to ‘fantastic talent’ Crysencio Summerville

A revitalised Summerville terrorised the Spurs backline during a first-half performance which surely ranks as his best 45 minutes in a West Ham jersey. His opening goal a quarter of an hour in required some luck – his shot deflected past a helpless, hapless Vicario – but few would begrudge Summerville such a moment.

That is two in two now, after 25 games without a goal.

“Cry is a fantastic talent,” Wilson added. “On the whole, he is becoming more consistent. Long may that continue for him.”

Jean-Clair Todibo and Konstantinos Mavropanos step up

Konstantinos Mavropanos was a pre-match doubt. Whatever Nuno said in his prayers to the footballing gods, they listened. Mavropanos made a colossal 14 clearances as he again proved himself to be West Ham’s most credible solution to their weaknesses from corners and crosses.

Jean-Clair Todibo was silky smooth and surprisingly speedy alongside Mavropanos at the back.

Tomas Soucek and Mateus Fernandes made nine tackles between them, meanwhile, as the oft-overworked Areola was protected by a wall of sheet-steel.

Callum Wilson at the death!

But who was your West Ham Man of the Match and why?

“It was massive because there has been a lot of question marks about the boys at the back this season,” Wilson points out. “I’m delighted for them today. It was not the clean sheet they wanted but they worked so hard, blocking shots on the line at the end.

“[Mavropanos] has been sharp today. He’s had a lot of criticism, but he’s dealt with everything coming into that box,” added Matthew Upson, a former Hammers centre-back himself in the late-2000s and early-2010s.

“[Fernandes] really put his foot in and won a lot of duels and tackles. Fernandes is working tirelessly, so is Soucek.

“[And Todibo] has had a lot of sprints into the channels. It’s the liveliest I’ve seen him. He’s shown a bit of pace today. I’m seeing a bit more edge about West Ham’s centre-backs.”

There had already been one derby steamrollering in this Premier League weekend, and Matthew Upson saw West Ham United threaten another during an outstanding first-half performance away to Tottenham Hotspur.

After former Hammer Michael Carrick masterminded a 2-0 victory over Pep Guardiola – the scoreline far more flattering to Manchester City than it was a rip-roaring Man United – Nuno Espirito Santo’s side will have been disappointed to walk down the tunnel only one goal to the good away to their own arch rivals.

Crysencio Summerville ended his 25-match goal drought against Queens Park Rangers in the FA Cup six days prior. As he cut inside Pedro Porro and fired a deflected effort past Guglielmo Vicario in the 15th minute, West Ham United’s number seven found the net on the Premier League stage for the first time since the Julen Lopetegui era.

Describe that first-half masterclass in ONE word!

And how good has Summerville been…

But, as Matthew Upson said during the world feed’s live coverage, do not underestimate the role new boy Pablo Felipe played in the build-up.

Matt Upson hails West Ham United duo Crysencio Summerville and Pablo Felipe

Taty Castellanos used his physicality and back-to-goal awareness to help open up the space for Summerville to drive a dagger into QPR hearts. This time, it was the other of West Ham’s January recruits who played his part.

Nuno handed Pablo a full Premier League debut in place of the absent Lucas Paqueta. And as the Hammers cut a swathe through Spurs’ paper-thin midfield, Pablo popped a lovely first-time lay-off into Mateus Fernandes’ path.

Fernandes then rattled a wicked pass into Summerville’s path, and the Dutchman did the rest.

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“What fantastic football from West Ham! One-touch play, I really like the lay-off from Pablo,” said Upson, who spent four years at Upton Park from 2007 to 2011.

“Porro cannot allow him inside the pitch; the moment he steps inside, Summerville was always favourite – he was going to get that shot off. This is really difficult for Vicario. There’s bodies in the way and the deflection goes in West Ham’s favour, but lovely football to build the situation.

“Nuno will be delighted with that.

“It got popped around the corner into Pablo, two one-touch passes on the bounce. Really nice, simple, quality football from West Ham. Well played from Summerville.

“It looks like the goal has given them a little bit of confidence. Summerville is the key.”

Tottenham terrified as Summerville draws Cristian Romero booking

The former Leeds speedster would breeze through Thomas Frank’s side time and time again in the opening 45 minutes. He even drew a yellow card from the always-combustible Cristian Romero, with both Spurs’ players and their supporters looking terrified and traumatised every time Summerville received possession.

“There’s a feeling with the Spurs fans that, when he gets hold of the ball, there’s a bit of a gasp of ‘what’s going to happen’. They are not happy. He’s looked a real threat Summerville,” Upson adds. He’s played really well in this first half.

“Summerville has been outstanding. To the point where they don’t want to deal with him. Romero has gone straight through the back of him. Summerville has been the star of the first-half.”

How West Ham would love to REPEAT that famous 3-0 win…

But can you work out the four missing players from the 2013 victory?

Upson lauds brilliant Hammers first-half in London derby

Tottenham needed a couple of superb saves from Vicario to deny both Tomas Soucek and Konstantinos Mavropanos. Jarrod Bowen had a goal ruled out for offside while Castellanos failed to hit the target with a header from point-blank range.

“When they are pressed in, if West Ham get one or two passes off, there’s space on the flanks. [Tottenham] look a little bit exposed to me,” said Upson, feeling that the game may be there for the taking for the visitors.

“I’ve been impressed with West Ham on the ball. They’ve got out of tight areas, moved the ball well, and have had a fair chunk of possession as well.

“It is the best I’ve seen West Ham play for a while. They’ve set up nicely away from home. It should be two or three [nil] in this game.”

Taty Castellanos picked up a booking inside the first minute of West Ham United’s derby clash with Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur, much to the bemusement of former Hammer Matt Upson.

Going into the weekend’s fixtures, only one other player had been shown a yellow card inside the opening 60 seconds of a top flight fixture.

That rather dubious honour went the way of Wolves defender Yerson Mosquera.

The team news has landed! How do you now feel about the game after seeing that? 👀

There was barely half a minute gone, however, when Pablo Felipe hit the ground after a collision with Spurs debutant Conor Gallagher. Pablo was making his first Premier League start for West Ham United, and received an early warning as to the physicality of English football.

And Nuno Espirito Santo will be hoping that Taty Castellanos’ unnecessary show of dissent does not come back to haunt the Hammers at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Taty Castellanos booked for dissent one minute into West Ham United vs Tottenham Hotspur

Referee Jarred Gillett handed Castellanos a blink-and-you’d-miss-it booking after the Argentine striker demanded a caution for Gallagher.

“It’s a daft thing to do really, you know the yellow card is coming,” Upson said on the world feed. “The referee is there doing his job. You don’t have to intervene and tell him how to do his job.

“You see him do that [wave an imaginary yellow card] and you’ve got to book him. To get a yellow card after a minute is never great.”

There has been very little to feel positive about at West Ham United this season but Tony Cottee remains as determined as ever to keep the optimism flowing.

The club’s second-highest all-time goalscorer has been an outspoken critic of his beloved old employers and their performances both on and off the pitch in recent months.

He is not the only one. Saying what everyone else is thinking.

But, when a matchday rolls around, Tony Cottee just cannot help but let his heart rule his head. The West Ham United legend is in attendance for Saturday’s 3pm kick-off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The team news has landed! How do you now feel about the game after seeing that? 👀

He will have sighed a sigh of relief as Nuno Espirito Santo was handed a massive boost pre-match. Mateus Fernandes and Konstantinos Mavropanos are both fit to start. Their most in-form midfielder, and their most physically-imposing centre-half both in the XI for a massive London derby clash with arch rivals Spurs.

Pablo Felipe is also handed a full Premier League debut, alongside fellow new recruit Taty Castellanos.

Tony Cottee backs West Ham United to avoid defeat at Tottenham Hotspur

Taking to X as he posted his usual pre-match prediction, Cottee can envisage a sharing of the spoils this afternoon.

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“I think we’ve got a chance today,” Cottee writes. “Will take a draw but we need to win.

“[My prediction is] 1-1.”

In truth, a draw is not enough really for a club in West Ham’s position. Roll it back to 2023 and win away at Tottenham, and the Hammers could end the weekend only four points adrift of safety.

Presuming Nottingham Forest lose at home to Arsenal later in the day, that is.

Nuno Espirito Santo determined to use QPR win as a confidence-booster

An under-fire Thomas Frank is urging Tottenham to take some belief from a valiant second half in an otherwise disappointing FA Cup third-round exit at the hands of Aston Villa last time out.

Similarly, his opposite number is also looking to use a much-improved performance in the cup competitions as a springboard for a Premier League revival.

“We are in a tough position but we are fighting to improve our game and the way we play,” Nuno said in his pre-match press conference on Friday. “There were many matches where we played well and didn’t achieve a result, but that [QPR win in the FA Cup] happened at the weekend, so that can be our starting point for what we want to do at Spurs.

How West Ham would love to REPEAT that famous 3-0 win…

But can you work out the four missing players from the 2013 victory?

“There are many things [which explain our poor form], not only luck. There are mistakes, mistakes that we can control.

“Let’s avoid talking about referees, but football is a game of fine margins. It’s the ball that hits the post, an offside by two centimetres. We have to work to gain our luck. We have to go and fight for it.

“[Tottenham] is a good team, full of talented players. Always a tough place to go. We expect a very tough match and it’s a rival – it’s a London derby. We are going to have 30,000 fans. What they expect from us is that we put up a good fight, then we’ll see. It’s a tough opponent and we need to have a good result.

“Our focus is to go there and compete. There is a lot of football to be played, but each game is very, very important for us.”

West Ham head to bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur with much more than bragging rights at stake and both Nuno Espirito Santo and Thomas Frank have big selection problems.

Lucas Paqueta is the name making the headlines ahead of West Ham’s trip to Spurs.

Both Nuno Espirito Santo and Thomas Frank are under enormous pressure.

Perversely, though, it is actually Tottenham manager Frank who is perhaps facing more scrutiny with reports he could be sacked if West Ham win.

Both the Hammers and Spurs have massively underperformed for the last two years.

That saw Tottenham finish 17th, one place above the relegation zone, last season while the Irons ended up 14th.

Higher stakes than usual as West Ham go to Spurs

Past the halfway stage of this season, though, Spurs have barely improved as they sit 14th while West Ham have regressed even further, sitting eight points adrift in the relegation zone.

Many now make the Hammers certainties for the drop.

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Lucas Paqueta could MISS Spurs v West Ham… 🤔

Who would you pick to start in his No 10 role instead?

But victory over Tottenham could breathe new life into their fight for survival, especially with Nottingham Forest facing Arsenal.

It makes West Ham’s short trip to north London all the more intriguing and utterly vital.

Nuno has been bemoaning West Ham’s lack of luck since his arrival.

But the stars may be aligning for him as Spurs could be missing seven key players for West Ham.

The Hammers are not without their major issues, though.

Nuno looks set to make four big West Ham changes with a top duo out as Spurs miss seven.

Paqueta’s future has been the subject of incessant claim and counterclaim all week as he pushes for a return to boyhood club Flamengo.

Talks were held between West Ham and the Brazilian giants on Friday as a deal looks increasingly likely in January.

Paqueta missed the QPR game in the FA Cup citing a back injury.

Nuno makes four big West Ham changes as Spurs miss seven

The situation got messy this week when West Ham accused Paqueta of ‘lies’ and ‘playing games’ over his injury.

Ironically, Spurs also made an offer to West Ham for Paqueta, but his response was swift and unequivocal.

With these players out or doutbful, who needs to step up against Tottenham?!

All eyes will be on whether Paqueta is available for the game after Nuno called on West Ham to resolve the situation quickly.

Hammers News believes Paqueta will not make the trip to Tottenham – and he won’t be the only key player missing.

Mateus Fernandes has been one of West Ham’s better players this season. He brings energy and combativeness to the midfield.

The Hammers will need that given Spurs are going to be boosted by the arrival of longstanding West Ham target Conor Gallagher.

But Fernandes has been training alone all week working on recovery after also missing the QPR game.

That gives Nuno a major headache in replacing Fernandes’ athleticism.

Tottenham’s top scorer Richarlison will miss the West Ham game through injury as will former Hammer Mohammed Kudus, arguably Spurs’ best player this season, who is out until April.

Midfield duo Lucas Bergvall and Rodrigo Bentancur are both out as are long-term absentees Dejan Kulisevski and James Maddison while Senegal star Pape Sarr remains at AFCON, along with West Ham’s El Hadji Malick Diouf, as they face Morocco in the final this weekend.

Kilman, Magassa, Potts and Wan-Bissaka in from start?

How Nuno sets up without Paqueta and Fernandes will go a long way to deciding the outcome of the game.

Konstantinos Mavropanos may have to sit the game out with a neck injury.

So Max Kilman will replace him in the starting XI from the team which started the last Premier League clash with Forest in change number one.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka will replace Ollie Scarles in change number two and either he or Kyle Walker-Peters will switch to left-back.

With Fernandes out and Paqueta out, Nuno will bring Freddie Potts and Soungoutou Magassa back into the starting XI from the team which lost to Forest in changes three and four.

Predicted West Ham starting XI to face Spurs:

Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Walker-Peters, Magassa, Potts, Soucek, Bowen, Summerville, Castellanos.

Kyle Walker-Peters has put what could be a nervy game for West Ham United at Tottenham on Saturday into perspective.

In a Premier League context, the mood is low at West Ham United.

Seven points from safety in the Premier League table and having lost to Wolves and Nottingham Forest, that is natural.

Be honest; how would YOU feel if West Ham swapped Nuno for Thomas Frank?

The Spurs boss has come in for huge criticism…

Still, Spurs are not in good form themselves. Thomas Frank is under huge pressure ahead of Tottenham versus West Ham and his side have won only two home games in the league all season.

This is not a vintage Tottenham team and the pressure under which they play at home is exploitable.

Walker-Peters, a former Spurs player, is aware of that.

Kyle Walker-Peters says Tottenham are struggling

The defender was speaking to West Ham’s official website ahead of the game.

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Club interviews are never likely to move the needle that much by their very nature, but Walker-Peters did make an interesting comment.

He, unsurprisingly, claimed that the squad know that Spurs are enduring issues of their own right now.

He said: “You always want to win the derby. We know they’re having a bit of a tough time as well.

“It’s going to be a tough game, but we’ll be ready for it, and we need to want it more than them.

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“They’re a top team, there’s no denying that. I think you saw last season they won a trophy, and they’ll be looking to turn their season around also.

“They’re at home, so they’ll want to dominate the game, but we’ll be ready to combat that, and we’re looking to get the win.

“I absolutely loved my time there. It’s been part of my life since I was a kid, so I’ve got nothing but positive things to say about Tottenham, but on matchday, there are no friends on the pitch, and I’ll be doing everything I can to get the three points.”

Indeed, there are reasons to believe that West Ham can make the short trip to north London and win.

West Ham’s record at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Spurs have been dreadful at home under Frank.

Interestingly, they also do not tend to have it all their own way against the Hammers at their relatively new ground.

Seven derbies have been played at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium since it opened in 2019. West Ham have won two of those, while drawing once and losing the other three.

Though the mood is low at West Ham, this is very much a beatable Tottenham side, particularly at home.

West Ham desperately need a victory to aid in their battle to beat the drop and the possibility cannot be ruled out.

As West Ham United prepare to make the short trip to North London for Saturday’s 3pm Premier League kick-off, Tottenham Hotspur head coach Thomas Frank is of the belief a recent defeat may show the way to victory.

Frank has lost a grand total of seven home matches in all competitions since taking over in the summer.

While the London Stadium is far from the space-age fortress it was intended to be when West Ham United swapped the Boleyn Ground for, well, a bowl without a soul, Spurs’ dreadful home record has not exactly endeared their current head coach to the local support.

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Nuno Espirito Santo hopes that FA Cup victory over QPR can be a springboard for a much improved second-half of the campaign. In his own way, Thomas Frank reflects on Tottenham’s third-round defeat to Aston Villa with similar hopefulness, even if first-half strikes from Emi Buendia and Morgan Rogers did see Unai Emery’s side progress at their expense.

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It says a lot about how low the standards have fallen at Spurs – Champions League finalists not so long ago – that a somewhat valiant 45 minutes in a home defeat to Aston Villa is being highlighted as one of the biggest pluses of the Frank era.

Talk about a game of two halves. Or, more fittingly, a performance of two halves.

Nuno jolted West Ham into life against Queens Park Rangers by introducing Pablo Felipe and Tomas Soucek. Frank, less than 24 hours earlier, saw his team up the intensity, pin Aston Villa back, and threaten to turn a 2-0 deficit into an extra-time battle.

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They would ultimately fail, of course.

But Frank knows that, with a repeat of their dismal first-half showing against Villa, they would be risking an embarrassing derby defeat up there with 2013’s Ravel Morrison-inspired trouncing. A performance more akin to their second-half showing against Villa, though, and Spurs may have too much for a West Ham side with the worst defensive record in the Premier League.

“I know it’s a big London derby against West Ham, with the rivalry and everything,” Frank tells the club’s official website. “But it’s all about us.

“It’s how we come out with energy, positive, forward [thinking]. Adding hopefully our first half against Sunderland [a 1-1 draw this month], second-half against Villa.

“If we can do that, then we’ll put a top performance out there and then we’ll win the game.

“It’s all about how we can get the players out there full of confidence and brave and play forward. Hopefully, that energy and the collaboration between the team and the fans that you felt second-half against Villa, first-half against Sunderland, that is what we need to get more of.

“When you have that, then it is a fantastic place, our fantastic stadium, our home. That is where we need to be. I mean it. Any successful team needs to create a fortress. I know it has been difficult, but that is what we are aiming for.

“The more we do, the more we believe, the more we do together, the better chance we have.”

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In addition to that iconic 3-0 thrashing under Sam Allardyce, West Ham also beat Tottenham away from home in 2019 and again in 2023, when the now out-of-favour James Ward-Prowse struck the winner a few weeks before Christmas.

Mohammed Kudus is unavailable against his former employers due to injury, while Spurs have also lost top-scorer Richarlison and arguably their most-effective central midfield pairing of Rodrigo Bentancur and Lucas Bergvall.

In the other dugout, Nuno is hoping to have Mateus Fernandes available. Konstantinos Mavropanos could miss out, though.

“We are in a tough position but we are fighting to improve our game and the way we play,” Nuno adds. “There were many matches where we played well and didn’t achieve a result, but that [QPR win in the FA Cup] happened at the weekend, so that can be our starting point for what we want to do at Spurs.”

“There are many things [which explain our poor form], not only luck. There are mistakes, mistakes that we can control.

“Let’s avoid talking about referees, but football is a game of fine margins. It’s the ball that hits the post, an offside by two centimetres. We have to work to gain our luck. We have to go and fight for it.

“[Tottenham] is a good team, full of talented players. Always a tough place to go. We expect a very tough match and it’s a rival – it’s a London derby. We are going to have 30,000 fans. What they expect from us is that we put up a good fight, then we’ll see. It’s a tough opponent and we need to have a good result. Our focus is to go there and compete. There is a lot of football to be played, but each game is very, very important for us.”