The style revolution is progressing at a snail's pace. West Ham's appearance remains uninspiring even after replacing David Moyes with Julen Lopetegui, who faces a significant challenge to prove his worth after starting his new role with football that lacks creativity, cunning, unity, energy, and defensive structure. It's been difficult to discern Lopetegui's strategy so far. There have been discussions about providing more entertainment, with occasional glimpses of potential. Mohammed Kudus had a promising spell during the second half of West Ham's loss to Aston Villa on the opening weekend, and there was a brief period of assertive play against Manchester City, who ultimately secured a 3-1 victory after a tough battle.
West Ham are clearly a team in the making. There's no immediate panic, but with only four points from their first four games, there's ample room for improvement. They could have had no complaints if they had lost more to Villa after being outplayed. They were also fortunate not to concede in the first half during their win at Crystal Palace and needed a 95th-minute equalizer from Danny Ings to salvage a point against Fulham at Craven Cottage last Saturday.
The straightforward approach at Fulham was perplexing after a summer where sporting director Tim Steidten oversaw a £100m investment in eight players and two loan signings. With Lucas Paquetá on the bench after international duty, Lopetegui fielded Edson Álvarez and Guido Rodríguez as defensive midfielders and Tomas Soucek as a No 10. Predictably, West Ham were sluggish in the first half, their lack of fluidity often leading to long balls towards Soucek and Michail Antonio.
Those anticipating a clear identity were left waiting. There was an improvement after Paquetá and Crysencio Summerville came on at halftime, but it wasn't a dominant performance before Ings scored. More intensity and creativity will be needed when Chelsea visit on Saturday. Perhaps it would help if Jarrod Bowen played as the central striker, Kudus moved to the right, and Summerville, yet to start a league game since joining from Leeds, was deployed on the left.
Even that would raise questions about West Ham's recruitment strategy. Their three strikers are all over 30. Antonio, 34, is no longer the physical force he once was. Ings, 32, was available for sale all summer. Niclas Füllkrug, the 31-year-old target man, is adapting to English football. An Achilles problem kept the Germany striker out against Fulham, and he was a key player in Borussia Dortmund's run to the Champions League final last season. However, paying £27m for a player of Füllkrug's age and profile was questionable. Not only is there no resale value, but there's also a tactical cost given Füllkrug's lack of pace. West Ham, who decided not to meet Villa's asking price for the prolific and much younger Jhon Durán, will find it challenging to stretch teams with the German up front.
That said, it seems Lopetegui is considering aerial power in attack. The former Real Madrid and Spain manager has emphasized long switches of play. There's surprise at some of the tactical instructions. However, a source familiar with Lopetegui's work in La Liga describes him as a defensive manager. Another source says he's not too dissimilar to Moyes.
West Ham are seeking more expansiveness. They grew weary of Moyes's pragmatism. They conceded 74 league goals last season and needed a change. In Lopetegui's defense, he has reintroduced the grit that disappeared towards the end of Moyes's tenure, and their possession statistics have improved. Yet, West Ham aren't doing much with the ball, partly because their reliance on Paquetá to provide creative sparks has caught up with them. The Brazil midfielder, who risks a lengthy ban after being charged with a breach of the Football Association's betting regulations, which he denies, has looked demotivated for a while; he has gone 12 games without scoring or assisting a goal in open play in the league.
This isn't to say West Ham are heading for disaster. But while goals are always within reach when Bowen and Kudus are playing, keeping them out is a problem. West Ham have conceded a worrying number of chances, and the defense hasn't looked settled. Konstantinos Mavropanos, signed from Stuttgart last year, makes too many mistakes next to Maximilian Kilman in central defense.
Lopetegui's hope must be that West Ham become harder to break down when Jean-Clair Todibo is ready to start alongside Kilman, who has been impressive since his £40m move from Wolves. This is a team in transition. Aaron Wan-Bissaka has edged out Vladimir Coufal at right-back. New partnerships are forming in different areas of the pitch. Todibo is a top talent, even though he didn't look like one during his struggle against Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup.
There's faith that everything will come together. Lopetegui has managed at the highest level and impressed during his brief spell at Wolves. For now, though, the atmosphere is underwhelming. West Ham have invested too much to accept standing still.
