Despite the eventual 0-3 scoreline, Graham Potter felt there were still a few positives to build upon following West Ham United’s London derby defeat by Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.
The head coach certainly liked what he saw during a diligent and competitive first-half performance.
Yes, the Hammers collapsed for what felt like an umpteenth time this season already – Tottenham scored three goals during a 17 minute spell in which Tomas Soucek was also sent for an early bath – but, this time at least, Potter’s positivity did not feel entirely misplaced.
El Hadji Malick Diouf and Crysencio Summerville combined impressively in a new-look left-wing partnership.
Soungoutou Magassa made an impression off the bench on his first West Ham United appearance. Alongside Mateus Fernandes, former Monaco enforcer Magassa should make a huge difference to a midfield crying out for an injection of fresh blood and a burst of nitrous-charged acceleration.
A West Ham XI containing Summerville, Diouf, Fernandes and Magassa certainly feels a lot more suited to picking up Premier League points than a West Ham XI containing James Ward-Prowse, Guido Rodriguez and Nayef Aguerd, for instance.
Over in the Bundesliga, the Hammers could do worse than to look at Werder Bremen in search of the kind of before-and-after inspiration they are looking for. Inspired by Romano Schmid, Samuel Mbangula and Victor Boniface – three players linked with West Ham over the summer – Bremen’s 4-0 thrashing of Borussia Monchengladbach provided an emphatic 90-minute demonstration of the impact new signings can make.
Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesThree West Ham United targets combine in Bundesliga win as Victor Boniface makes his mark
According to The Guardian, West Ham tracked Austria playmaker Schmid before securing the services of both Fernandes and Magassa in late-August.
An extremely hard-worker off the ball but a reliable creator of chances with the ball, Schmid could have performed an Alexis Mac Allister-style role at Potter’s West Ham, emulating the Argentinian’s impact at Brighton.
Meanwhile, West Ham saw an £8 million bid rejected by Juventus for Samuel Mbangula back in January, according to TuttoSport.
The Bayer Leverkusen-owned Victor Boniface was linked heavily too, before sealing a deadline day loan move to Werder Bremen.
And as the trio combined to devastating effect during Sunday’s 4-0 away win at Borussia Monchengladbach, the Hammers may have been left wondering what they could have had.
West Ham need a Werder Bremen-style bounceback against Crystal Palace
To draw a more positive conclusion, West Ham can learn a lot from the way Werder Bremen have helped their new arrivals settle in alongside the old heads.
“The new guys feel very comfortable and have already made their mark,” head coach Horst Steffen beamed as Werder Bremen bounced back in style following that 4-1 opening weekend defeat by Eintracht Frankfurt.
“Many of them already know each other, and this makes it easier for the group to continue to grow together. Add to that the team’s success, which makes things easier for new recruits.
“I have the feeling [Mbangula] is getting better every week. He’s becoming more and more relaxed, has more and more good dribbles and situations that he solves for us. He can continue, and we can continue to be happy. We’re happy that he’s here and has already made his mark.”
After Mbangula opened the scoring with a thumping finish in off the crossbar and Steffen helped set up Werder’s second, the former Juventus starlet drew a penalty after an electric turn of pace down the left-hand flank.
Just to add a sugary layer of icing, substitute Boniface then played a gorgeous ball in behind for Justin Djinmah to wrap up Werder Bremen’s biggest Bundesliga away win since they smashed Paderborn 5-1 in June 2020.
How West Ham could do with a turning-back-the-clock moment of their own against Crystal Palace on Saturday.