Head Coach Graham Potter could hand four players their West Ham United debuts in Saturday’s 2025/26 Premier League opener at Sunderland.
El Hadji Malick Diouf, Kyle Walker-Peters, Callum Wilson and Mads Hermansen are all set to be named in the Hammers’ matchday squad for the first time after completing summer moves from Slavia Prague, Southampton, Newcastle United and Leicester City respectively.
While Potter was not giving his team selection away in his pre-match press conference at Rush Green on Thursday afternoon, one could reasonably expect that at least one of his recent signings will appear at the Stadium of Light.
Asked specifically if Danish goalkeeper Hermansen could start between the sticks on Wearside, Potter replied: “Well, I’m not going to name a team now, obviously, but yeah, we’re delighted with the signing. I think he provides some real competition in that position.
“We obviously lost Łukasz Fabiański, so we felt that we needed to add some experienced competition there and yeah, we’ll see how the weekend goes.”
New signings aside, Academy of Football graduate Freddie Potts has also featured regularly in pre-season and could make his Premier League debut on Saturday after returning from an impressive loan spell with Portsmouth in the EFL Championship last term.
However, two players who will miss the trip to the North East are winger Crysencio Summerville, who is approaching his comeback from a hamstring injury, and another Championship loan star in George Earthy, who spent last season with Bristol City before suffering an ankle injury in training in July.
“We’ve still got Crysencio Summerville in the last stages of his rehab, so he won’t be available, but he’s getting really close, so that’s good for us,” Potter confirmed.
“George Earthy still had an injury that he sustained early in pre-season. Apart from that, we’re pretty much close to full availability.”
