Honestly, if you’d asked any West Ham fan at 4:55 PM today how they felt about the season, "resigned to relegation" would’ve been the polite version. Then Callum Wilson—the guy everyone thought was halfway out the door to Celtic or Everton—pops up in the 93rd minute to sink Spurs at their own stadium.
It's absolute chaos.
But that’s the reality of west ham football news now. One minute you're 18th in the table, seven points adrift of safety and looking like a team that’s forgotten how to win a coin toss. The next, you’ve broken a 10-match winless streak in the most dramatic London derby possible.
The Nuno Gamble and the Paco Jémez Factor
Nuno Espírito Santo has been under massive pressure since he took over from Graham Potter back in September. It hasn't been pretty. The defense has been leakier than a rusty bucket, conceding 43 goals so far. But the board did something interesting this week. Instead of sacking Nuno, they brought in Paco Jémez as a first-team coach.
If you don't know Jémez, he’s basically a tactical fundamentalist. He’d rather lose playing beautiful attacking football than win a boring 1-0. It's a weird pairing with Nuno’s more conservative roots, but today at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, it kinda worked. The Hammers looked braver. They actually kept the ball.
- The Starting XI Surprise: Taty Castellanos and Pablo Felipe both started.
- The Shift: We saw a lot more verticality in the passing, likely that Jémez influence starting to seep in.
- The Resilience: Going 1-0 down and actually coming back? That hasn't been in this team's DNA lately.
The January Overhaul: Who’s In and Who’s Out?
The west ham football news now isn't just about the pitch; the recruitment team is working overtime. They’ve already dropped about £50 million this month on two strikers, and let's be real, they needed them.
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Taty Castellanos looks like the real deal. He scored the winner in the FA Cup against QPR last week and his work rate today was tireless. Then there's Pablo Felipe, who arrived from Gil Vicente with a goal-scoring record that made people sit up. Having both of them on the pitch at the same time feels like a statement that the club isn't planning on playing in the Championship next year.
But there’s a massive elephant in the room: Lucas Paquetá.
He wants to go back to Flamengo. He’s basically said as much. The club is trying to negotiate a deal where he signs for them but stays on loan here until the summer. It’s a messy situation. You could see he was missing today, and while the win was great, the lack of a creative spark in the middle of the park is still a glaring issue.
"We have to solve the situation with Paqueta quickly. It's a situation that we have to solve, all of us at the club." — Nuno Espírito Santo, January 15, 2026.
The Rumor Mill: Nwaneri and the Keeper Crisis
Word is the club tried to get Ethan Nwaneri on loan from Arsenal. That got knocked back pretty quickly because the kid wants to fight for his spot at the Emirates. There’s also talk of Filip Jorgensen coming in from Chelsea because Mads Hermansen has had a bit of a nightmare since his £20m move from Leicester.
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It’s a bit of a shambles when you have to bring 40-year-old Lukasz Fabianski back into the fold, but that’s where we are.
What This Means for the Relegation Battle
Winning a derby is great for the ego, but the math is still scary. Before today, West Ham were seven points away from the "safe" zone. This win cuts that down, but the schedule coming up is a gauntlet.
- Sunderland (H): Jan 24 - This is a "must-win" if there ever was one.
- Chelsea (A): Jan 31 - Usually a bloodbath, but after today, who knows?
The biggest takeaway from the west ham football news now is that the "soft" West Ham that collapsed under Potter seems to be toughening up. Callum Wilson coming off the bench to score while his agent is likely on the phone with three other clubs shows a level of professional pride that’s been missing.
Moving Forward: Actionable Insights for Fans
If you're following the Hammers' survival scrap, keep your eyes on the deadline. The Paquetá deal—or his replacement—will define the rest of 2026. If they don't bring in a creative midfielder to replace his output, all the strikers in the world won't matter because they won't get the service.
What you should do now:
- Watch the highlights of Crysencio Summerville’s performance today; his recovery from that hamstring injury seems complete, and he’s finally finding the form that made him Championship Player of the Year.
- Keep an eye on the official club announcements regarding Andy Irving; his move to Sparta Prague is all but done, which clears more space on the wage bill.
- Check the fitness updates on Jean-Clair Todibo. His groin injury is a massive concern because Mavropanos and Kilman are still struggling for consistency.
The win at Spurs provides a lifeline, but the hard work is just starting.
Next Steps for Your West Ham Coverage
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To stay ahead of the curve on West Ham’s survival bid, you should monitor the training ground reports early next week to see if Mateus Fernandes passes his latest fitness test. His energy in the middle will be vital for the Sunderland game. Also, track the Flamengo negotiation updates—expect a definitive "stay or go" decision on Paquetá by Wednesday.