So, the January transfer window has closed as West Ham United’s squad is set in stone for the remainder of the Premier League campaign.

Has enough been done in the market? Does Nuno Espirito Santo have enough quality to reel in Leeds, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace? Can Axel Disasi make the impact West Ham United are hoping for after nearly a year without a first-team appearance.

We at Hammers News think so.

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Chelsea display could be a repeat of West Ham’s 2007 Tottenham classic

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I’m not going to lie, I’m underwhelmed…

West Ham may have had nothing to show from their trip to Stamford Bridge but, in that infamous 2006/07 campaign, it was a similarly-valiant defeat against another London rival which gave them the confidence and impetus required to push on.

Alan Curbishly remembers being so enthused on the drive home from an admittedly heart-wrenching, stoppage-time 4-3 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur. His Hammers heroes would go on to win seven of their final nine games to pull off the greatest of ‘Great Escapes’.

Is history about to repeat itself? That remains to be seen. Nuno’s game-management came into question once again at Stamford Bridge. For the third time in just seven weeks, he made overly-defensive changes from a leading position and ended up paying the price.

There is, though, still plenty of football to be played and plenty of chances remaining to right those wrongs. Replicate their scintillating first-half showing at the Bridge, coupled with an ‘attack is the best form of defence’ mindset, and survival should still be a very realistic possibility.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad looks far stronger now

Only six players remain from the West Ham XI which started the campaign with a 3-0 defeat by Sunderland in August. Barring the loss of Lucas Paqueta, this looks like a much stronger team and a much deeper squad.

Their wait for a first league goal drags on, but Pablo and Taty Castellanos have brought a physicality and a presence missing under Niclas Fullkrug.

How do you feel about West Ham’s big rebuild?

Are we stronger now?

A snail-paced midfield of Guido Rodriguez and James Ward-Prowse has been upgraded and made a lot younger. If Axel Disasi can find form – the Chelsea loanee has locked up Erling Haaland in the relatively recent past – he too should prove a massive step up from those who came before.

Nuno talked up the greater ‘options’ available to him last month, particularly in the full-back spots. These days, he has the luxury of picking an XI without the likes of Callum Wilson, Freddie Potts, Soungoutou Magassa, Ollie Scarles and Adama Traore.

The drop-off from the starters to the subs in a handful of key positions does not appear quite as stark as it was in the autumn.

Axel Disasi is a big upgrade on Max Kilman

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher summed up the Max Kilman problem just days after Nuno was appointed. The former Wolves captain is simply ‘too passive’, he said.

Put Kilman and Todibo together, and West Ham have a starting central-defensive pair with some of the worst aerial duel stats in the league.

No wonder the Hammers have conceded so many goals from corners and crosses.

Konstantinos Mavropanos has been much-improved of late – he credits Paco Jemez with helping bring a greater sense of organisation at the back – but Disasi’s arrival could be a game changer.

It’s not too long ago that Axel Disasi snubbed West Ham – so what has changed? 👀

To be fair, it won’t matter if he keeps us up 😂

The France international won 68 per cent of his aerial duels in 2023/24, his best year in English football. Per Total Football Analysis, this places Disasi in the 98th percentile.

There are weaknesses in his game. Disasi is prone to lapses in concentration and can be exposed on the half-turn. But if West Ham’s Achilles heel is dealing with high balls into the box, then Disasi could prove to be the steel-capped boot protecting those old wounds.

Disasi prides himself upon his ‘aggressive’ nature and his ‘dominant’ presence. Music to the ears of a fanbase who have spent much of the campaign watching their defence fall apart like soggy tissue paper.

Mohamadou Kante and Ezra Mayers are genuine options now

Nuno has big plans for Mohamadou Kante and Ezra Mayers at the London Stadium. The reserve-team duo both made first-team debuts on the other side of Christmas, while Airidas Golambeckis and Fin Herrick can often be spotted training with the seniors at Rush Green too.

Expect more chances to come the way of Kante and Mayers, in particular, further down the line.

The former is probably the club’s fifth-choice central midfielder these days following the exits of Andy Irving, Guido Rodriguez and James Ward-Prowse. Versatile teenager Mayers is determined to kick on as well following his first start in the FA Cup triumph over Queens Park Rangers.

The 18-year-old’s emergence more than likely was a deciding factor in West Ham allowing Igor Julio to return to Brighton.

Losing Emeka Adiele and Elisha Sowunmi is a concern; two of the club’s brightest young talents departed in the final days of the window, for Utrecht and Tottenham respectively. But, with Nuno on board and a handful of fringe players moved on in Irving, Igor and co, the pathway looks clearer than ever for Kante and Mayers.

And there is nothing the fans like more than to see a fresh-faced talent break through.

A worrying development as another Hammers starlet leaves! 😟

Why do YOU think Adiele and Sowunmi both departed? What needs to CHANGE?

Crysencio Summerville and Mateus Fernandes are flying

Crysencio Summerville scored for a fourth successive match against Chelsea. After 25 games without one, the winger now has four in four. Jarrod Bowen’s sluggish form in late-2025 appears to be a thing of the past, too, while Mateus Fernandes looks a £100 million midfielder in-waiting.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Tomas Soucek, Mavropanos and Todibo – albeit until his red card on Saturday – are also playing their best football of the season.

The spine of West Ham’s team, during that trouncing at the Stadium of Light, read Mads Hermansen, Max Kilman, Guido Rodriguez, James Ward-Prowse and Niclas Fullkrug.

Now, it’s Alphonse Areola, Mavropanos, Todibo, Fernandes, Soucek and Taty Castellanos. Not perfect, far from it, but a damn sight better.