This summer has been one of change for West Ham United, with nine new players brought to the club under new manager Manuel Pellegrini.
This weekend will provide a first taste of London Stadium for many of West Ham’s new faces for the visit of Bournemouth to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park venue, but most importantly offer a first chance to get a winning feeling at home this season.Â
Manuel Pellegrini was encouraging with the options at his disposal as Bournemouth travel north on Saturday and despite a disappointing start at Liverpool last week, the Chilean is still focused on those targets.Â
“Every week is important in this moment, when you bring in so many players and have so many changes. We will try to win as many games as possible,†said Pellegrini.
There were six debutants at Anfield with Lucas Perez and Carlos Sanchez also freshly acquired, waiting in the wings. The boss admits it’ll take time for the unit to gel together.
“We have nine new players and every week that you have you are working with them to try and improve,†he said.
“We have brought in a lot of good players, players like Felipe [Anderson], who are creative players. Lucas Perez, Felipe, Yarmolenko, they are creative players and they will bring a lot to our team.â€
Young forward Toni Martinez left on loan to Rayo Majadahonda this week, but that is it for transfers for the Hammers.
“The squad we have now is our squad for the season; I don’t think we are going to have any more going out at this moment,†said the boss.
Pellegrini adopted a 4-2-3-1 formation last weekend with Declan Rice adopting a midfield role and main man Marko Arnautovic leading the line. He wasn’t giving anything away about his selection but suggests Perez and Sanchez could make the bench.
“They have just a week with us. We will see if they are good to go onto the bench, but I cannot say at this moment,†he said.
As for the opposition, a 2-0 win over Cardiff was Bournemouth’s first opening day victory in the Premier League. It was a point a piece last season in a 1-1 draw.
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