The 2026–27 season is the 132nd season in the history of West Ham United Football Club, and the club's first season in the Championship since the 2011–12 season following their relegation from the Premier League in the preceding season. In addition to the domestic league, the club are also participating in the FA Cup and EFL Cup.
Season Summary
August West Ham kicked off their season in the EFL Cup first round, where they faced fellow Championship side Portsmouth. The Hammers went behind in the first half before a goal each by Taty Castellanos and Jarrod Bowen just before half-time saw West Ham go into the break with a lead. Another goal from Castellanos early in the second half made it 3–1 which was enough to see them progress to round 2.
The first league match of the season was against Burnley, away at Turf Moor. Burnley had been relegated along with West Ham at the end of the previous season. The Hammers took a 2–0 lead after Max Kilman scored his first goal for the club when heading in Bowen's first half corner, before Manor Solomon got a debut goal in the second half. The Hammers held a two-goal advantage until the 83rd minute before two late goals by Zian Flemming (including a penalty) for the home side saw Burnley come back to level at 2–2, which is how the match finished.
West Ham's first home league game was a London derby against near neighbours Charlton Athletic. This was the first league meeting between the two clubs since February 2007, when both teams were in the Premier League. The visitors took the lead after only 7 minutes through captain Lloyd Jones, who scored with an overhead kick following a long throw-in. Tyreece Campbell doubled Charlton's lead on 56 after a mistake by Konstantinos Mavropanos allowed Campbell to dispossess him, before dribbling and shooting into the corner from outside the box. West Ham dominated possession and debutant Joel Piroe scored on 63 minutes, shooting high into the roof of the net after Castellanos' initial shot was blocked by the Charlton goalkeeper. West Ham had the chance to level the match when they were awarded a 93rd minute penalty, after former Hammer Conor Coventry handballed in the box; however, Castellanos hit the post with his kick and the match ended in a 1–2 defeat for West Ham.
A much changed West Ham side travelled to St. Mary's to face Southampton in the 2nd round of the EFL Cup to. The Hammers again found themselves behind early on when Leo Scienza picked up a clearance and dribbled into the box before shooting low into the goal. West Ham found an equaliser in he 41st minute when 19 year-old academy prospect Josh Ajala headed in Lewis Orford's corner at the back post for his first senior goal. Ajala added a second goal on 53, firing into the bottom corner after good work from Divine Mukasa on the left. West Ham brought on Taty Castellanos and Bowen, both of whom made an impact - Taty making it 3–1 to the Hammers with a tap in from Joel Veltman's cutback, before Bowen scored West Ham's fourth in the 84th minute after receiving Orford's pass then cutting inside on his left foot and shooting into the corner. The final score was 4–1 to West Ham, who progressed to round 3.
West Ham made the short journey to Watford on 29th August. Once again, the Hammers found themselves behind early on when Amin Nabizada scored a solo effort after 20 minutes. West Ham were only behind for 7 minutes before Castellanos pressured Kevin Keben on Watford's right, forcing a mistake before Mattie Pollock turned the Argentine striker's low ball from the byline into his own net for 1–1. The Hammers dominated possession from then on and had chances to take the lead through Piroe, Solomon, new signing Arne Engels and Bowen but they could not find a winner and the match ended in a draw, meaning West Ham were still searching for their first league win of the season.
August was concluded with a home match against another side relegated from the Premier League in Wolverhampton Wanderers. The visitors had the chance to go top of the table with a win and were unbeaten so far in the season. Wolves had the better of the early play as West Ham struggled, with Raul Jimenez going close on two occasions and Jackson Tchatchoua also missing a good chance. Mateus Mane also hit the bar for Wolves before Mukasa scored a spectacular effort from 25-yards to put West Ham 1–0 up against the run of play on 33 minutes. This swung momentum in the Hammers' favour and Bowen made it 2–0 from the penalty spot on 40 after Piroe was fouled in the box. Wolves pulled a goal back two minutes before half time when Marshall Munetsi outpaced Mavropanos and took the ball on to score with a low shot. West Ham restored their 2-goal advantage in the 53rd minute when a fortunate deflection saw Mukasa's shot loop into the goal over Jose Sa for his second of the game, after collecting Bowen's pass. Three became four when Mavropanos slammed the ball into the roof of the net from close range following a corner; however, the Greek defender then turned in Jordan James' low cross for an own goal to reduce the deficit again. The final score was 4–2 to West Ham as they picked up their first league win of the campaign and inflicted Wolves' first defeat.
Adama Boiro signed on transfer deadline day, on loan from Atletic Bilbao. He joined Engels, Veltman, Solomon, Keiber Lamadrid and Edvin Austbo as major signings in the transfer window. The likes of El-Hadji Malick Diouf, Crysencio Summerville and Mateus Fernandes were among those players to leave for large fees, with James Ward-Prowse also returning to former club Southampton on a permanent deal and Niclas Fullkrug, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Jean-Clair Todibo all joining other clubs on long-term loans.
September The month began with a visit from Derby County to the London Stadium. West Ham took the lead early through Piroe, who tapped in on the goal line after Taty had headed Bowen's cross from the right back across the goalmouth. West Ham dominated the possession and chances but took until the 87th minute to find a second goal when substitute Austbo scored from close range after Bowen's attempt from Engels pass had rolled into his path unmarked and he scored with a low shot, his first goal for the club. Mohamadou Kante put the result beyond any doubt in stoppage time when he scored with a low drive from 20-yards, which was also his first West Ham goal as the Hammers won comfortably 3–0.
West Ham faced Bolton Wanderers in an away match on 8 September. This was the first league meeting between the two clubs since April 2011 when both were in the Premier League. An entertaining first half saw West Ham take the lead on 13 minutes when Bowen fired high into the net after Bolton looked to have cleared any danger. The match turned around following two Bolton goals in just under 10 minutes from Ethan Erhahon's smart low shot and a penalty from Ruben Rodrigues. The Hammers restored parity four minutes later when Engels’deep free kick from the right found Mavropanos unmarked at the far post to head in. Bowen scored a winner with just under a quarter of hour of normal time remaining when he steered Veltman's through ball inside the near post in an effort which Bazunu in the Bolton goal failed to keep out. the 3–2 victory for West Ham was their first league win against Bolton since May 2007 and their first ever win at Bolton's current stadium in any competition; the Hammers previous league victory at Bolton came in 1995 at Burnden Park.
West Ham faced Wrexham in their next league match at the London Stadium on 11 September . The Hammers recorded a 6–0 victory, their fourth consecutive league win, to move to the top of the Championship. Jarrod Bowen opened the scoring in the 28th minute, converting Morato’s low cross, before Piroe doubled the lead after being set up by Castellanos seven minutes before half-time. Mavropanos headed in Bowen’s corner three minutes after the restart, while Taty completed a counter-attack involving Kyle Walker-Peters to make it 4–0 in the 63rd minute. Kanté added a fifth after running onto Solomon’s pass, before Solomon completed the scoring in the 82nd minute. The result marked the first time in West Ham’s history in which six different players had scored for the club in a league match and it was also West Ham's biggest league win since April 2012.
Four days later, West Ham hosted Fulham in the third round of the EFL Cup. Rodrigo Muniz headed Fulham into the lead in the 13th minute, but Morato equalised three minutes later with a header following a set-piece. César Palacios restored the visitors’ advantage in the 37th minute before Pabloscored his first West Ham goal during first-half stoppage time, leaving the teams level at 2–2 at the interval. Substitute Oscar Bobb scored the decisive goal in the 78th minute, giving Fulham a 3–2 victory and eliminating West Ham from the League Cup. The Hammers came close to another equaliser when Timothy Castagne cleared Castellanos’ late effort from the goal line. Before the match, West Ham held a period of appreciation for former legendary goalkeeper Luděk Mikloško, who had died following a battle with cancer.
West Ham travelled to The Den to face rivals Millwall in the Championship on 19 September. It was the 100th competitive fixture between the clubs and their first meeting since 2012 when West Ham won 2–1, also in the Championship. Millwall took the lead in the 16th minute when Caleb Taylor scored from close range after Mads Hermansen had saved Mark Sykes’ initial effort. Camiel Neghli doubled the home side’s advantage in first-half stoppage time following another long throw from Lyndon Dykes. West Ham improved after introducing Kanté and Pablo at half-time. Kanté reduced the deficit with a low 25-yard strike in the 74th minute, before Mavropanos headed Solomon’s cross into the net six minutes later to complete the comeback. Kanté was subsequently sent off in the 89th minute after bringing down Kyrell Lisbie, but the ten-man Hammers held on for a 2–2 draw.
Squad
No. Player Nationality Position(s) Date of birth (age) Signed from Apps Goals Assists Goalkeepers 1 Mads Hermansen GK Leicester City 25 0 0 23 Alphonse Areola GK Paris Saint-Germain 124 0 0 49 Finlay Herrick GK West Ham Academy 2 0 0 Defenders 2 Kyle Walker-Peters FB Southampton 33 1 0 3 Maximilian Kilman CB Wolverhampton Wanderers 73 1 1 5 Morato (on loan from Nottingham Forest) CB Nottingham Forest 1 0 0 15 Konstantinos Mavropanos CB / RB VfB Stuttgart 108 5 0 18 Adama Boiro (on loan from Athletic Bilbao) LB Athletic Bilbao 1 0 0 30 Ollie Scarles LB West Ham Academy 39 0 0 34 Joël Veltman RB / CB Brighton & Hove Albion 7 0 1 58 Airidas Golambeckis DF West Ham Academy 2 0 0 63 Ezra Mayers DF West Ham Academy 10 0 1 Midfielders 4 Edson Álvarez DM Ajax 74 2 3 7 Arne Engels MF / RB / RW Celtic 5 0 1 17 Mohamadou Kanté MF Paris FC 21 1 1 21 Keiber Lamadrid LM / LW Deportivo La Guaira 3 0 0 27 Soungoutou Magassa DM Monaco 26 1 1 28 Tomáš Souček DM / CM Slavia Prague 282 46 11 61 Lewis Orford MF West Ham Academy 8 0 2 Forwards 9 Joël Piroe (on loan from Leeds United) ST Leeds United 5 2 0 10 Manor Solomon LW / RW Tottenham Hotspur 6 1 0 11 Taty Castellanos ST Lazio 31 10 4 14 Divine Mukasa (on loan from Manchester City) FW / AM Manchester City 5 2 1 19 Pablo ST Gil Vicente 20 0 2 20 Jarrod Bowen (captain) RW / ST Hull City 286 87 61 22 Maxwel Cornet LW / FW Burnley 37 1 6 35 Edvin Austbø LW / LM Viking 2 1 1 66 Joshua Ajala FW West Ham Academy 2 2 0
Transfers and contracts The summer transfer window opened on 15 June 2026 and closed on 1 September 2026. The winter transfer window will open on 1 January 2027 and close on 1 February 2027.
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