West Ham rounded off their 2026 pre-season with a 1-1 draw against German side 1. FC Magdeburg.

Max Kilman opened the scoring for Nuno Espírito Santo’s side, scoring his first ever Irons goal with an excellent left-footed volley from a corner kick in the first half. However, that was as good as it got for the Hammers.

Nuno’s men generally looked lethargic, as they have done for much of pre-season. With so much uncertainty still surrounding the club just a week before the return of competitive action, it is difficult to gauge where the players’ minds are at.

The backline looked decent, though Ollie Scarles had a rather shaky performance. The biggest positive to take from the game (and perhaps pre-season as a whole) was Max Kilman’s positive display. In fact, the Irons’ centre-back has looked solid all summer. Perhaps a redemption arc is due – see Konstantinos Mavropanos in 2025/26.

Bowen and Lamadrid worked hard on the wings. It has been a rather frustrating pre-season for the skipper, but he has still shown quality whenever he has played. Expect a slow start to the season from him, as he’ll be every opposition’s key focus.

Lamadrid quietly continues to impress. He hasn’t shown anything particularly special yet, but hasn’t looked out of place in the West Ham side.

As usual, Taty and Pablo worked hard up front with little reward. Whether or not Taty will be a West Ham player remains to be seen, but a frustrated sliding challenge towards the end of the game wasn’t a particularly positive sign.

For me, the big worry going into the season is the midfield. After losing Tomáš Souček to injury and Mateus Fernandes to an even worse fate – Spurs – the Irons now appear to be losing Freddie Potts to Club Brugge.

That has left Nuno with Mohamadou Kanté and Lewis Orford, neither of whom look ready to start in the Championship, James Ward-Prowse, who’s relationship with the boss is still a concern, and Soungoutou Magassa, who hasn’t played a minute of pre-season.

There was talk over the last two days of Celtic’s Arne Engels potentially making the switch to Stratford. That move can’t come quick enough, especially if Potts is sold soon. The Irons academy graduate is expected to move for around £10 million, which should hopefully be enough to finance the Engels move.

Regardless, it has been a summer that started with a bang and has concluded in a fizzle, as West Ham are still yet to strengthen their tiny Championship squad, which now resembles last season’s Premier League 2 side more than their top-flight squad that faced the drop.

Portsmouth await next weekend in the cup. The Hammers must take action and fast.