Todibo, Summerville & Füllkrug: Rating every West Ham summer signing

Few clubs received as much praise for their work in the summer transfer window as West Ham United – alongside the arrival of new manager Julen Lopetegui, several seemingly shrewd signings left the London Stadium faithful brimming with optimism ahead of a new Premier League campaign. It hasn’t all gone according to plan.

The 4-1 win over Ipswich Town just before the international break gave Lopetegui a little bit of breathing room, but it will still just their second of a disappointing season so far. How much of that frustration, however, can be laid at the feet of the new arrivals?

We’ve looked at all nine of West Ham’s summer signings and rated each of them based on their performances so far. Some have struggled, a couple have impressed in fits and starts, and one or two have barely even seen any action – so which look like flops, and which could be big hits for years to come?

Wes Foderingham – N/A

We decided to present the nine new signings in alphabetical order, which at least gets the least exciting one out of the way first – the 33-year-old Foderingham was signed on a free transfer to be the club’s third-choice goalkeeper, and hasn’t seen the pitch yet, meaning we can’t really give him a rating of any kind.

Niclas Füllkrug – 4/10

Given that the 31-year-old striker had scored 47 Bundesliga goals over the past three seasons and earned himself a place in Germany’s Euro 2024 squad, it looked like quite the coup when Füllkrug signed for €27m (£22.6m) from Borussia Dortmund. He could yet be the answer to the problem position at centre-forward, but fitness issues have restricted him to just one start, in the EFL Cup. No goals, and just two total shots on target for his new club. Not the numbers anyone wanted, while a lingering Achilles injury is a growing concern.

Luis Guilherme – 6/10

It’s far too early to judge the 18-year-old winger, who cost €23m (£19.3m) when he signed from Palmeiras – he’s played five minutes of senior football so far, although he did bag a goal in the Premier League International Cup fixture against Benfica when playing for the Under-21s.

Max Kilman – 6/10

The most expensive of West Ham’s new arrivals, it took almost £40m to prise the defender away from Wolverhampton Wanderers and he’s had a few ups and downs since. A promising first few games quickly gave way to one or two really poor performances, particularly against Manchester City and Chelsea, where he was often left looking leaden-footed by faster, sharper opposing forwards. As with the team more broadly, he’s certainly been better in the last couple of games, but hasn’t lived up to his lofty price tag as yet.

Guido Rodríguez – 5/10

An experienced midfielder who won the last World Cup with Argentina and didn’t cost a penny when he was signed as a free agent after his Real Betis contract ended – it seemed hard to imagine that it could be a bad idea to bring Rodríguez in. He hasn’t been completely convincing yet, however, and has looked off the pace at times and has struggled to keep a lid on players looking to dribble past him.

Carlos Soler – 5/10

A proven with plenty of proven quality, the Spain international wasn’t a good fit for Paris Saint-Germain’s style and was often played out of position on the right wing – but there was every indication that he could improve West Ham’s midfield and his signing seemed very savvy. The jury remains out, however, as he’s been limited to occasional substitute appearances thus far, and looked sluggish in his first couple of outings, getting booked twice in two games as he failed to make tackles. Looked a little tidier against Brentford, at least.

Crysencio Summerville – 3/10

Another player who arrived with fanfare but who has been restricted to the bench so far, Summerville has come on for the last 20 or 30 minutes of most of West Ham’s matches but has really struggled to contribute since his £24.5m move from Leeds United. He’s barely had a shot, hardly created a chance, and has struggled to beat defenders despite that being one of his strongest suits in the Championship. It’s early days and he has time on his side, but he’s had a poor start to life in the Premier League.

Jear-Clair Todibo – 5/10

The former Barcelona defender was widely expected to move to a club like Manchester United over the summer so when he rocked up at the London Stadium on a loan-to-buy deal, it was a real coup – which is why it mystified a lot of fans when he barely featured for the first few games of the season. When he did play, however, he made Lopetegui’s case for him, and he was especially poor in the 5-1 EFL Cup thrashing at Anfield. Encouragement has come since, however. Having finally been given a start in the last two league games, he has looked rock solid and was probably the team’s best defender in those games.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 7/10

The full-back signed from Manchester United on a massive eight-year deal, which demonstrated a lot of faith – and it looks pretty well-placed thus far. Of all the new arrivals, he’s been the most consistent, typically rock solid at the back while offering a little more support to the attack than some might have expected, not that he has any assists to his name just yet. In the games in which it’s felt as though everything else was going wrong, Wan-Bissaka has generally kept his head very well. He could be at West Ham for a very long time, but that doesn’t look like a problem just yet.