Chris Sutton has criticised West Ham United technical director Tim Steidten for failing to move the club forward despite a summer of heavy spending and managerial change.
The German arrived at the London Stadium in July 2023, but it was the recent summer where he really made his presence felt.
Under Steidten’s guidance, the Hammers embarked on a lavish summer of spending that saw them sign the likes of Niclas Fullkrug, Crysencio Summerville and Max Kilman. Meanwhile, David Moyes was replaced by former Spain, Real Madrid and Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui in the dugout.
The summer overhaul is yet to really bear fruit for the Hammers, who have taken just four points from their opening four games of the Premier League season; although their two defeats have come against Champions League sides Manchester City and Aston Villa.
Sutton critical of West Ham chief Steidten
BBC pundit Sutton believes Steidten wasted his time replacing Moyes with another ‘pragmatist’ in Lopetegui, while he believes West Ham will remain nothing more than a mid-table side despite their massive spending.
“West Ham supposedly replaced David Moyes because they wanted to play ‘the West Ham way’, and the Hammers’ technical director Tim Steidten was reportedly flying managers in for talks when Moyes was still in charge,” Sutton wrote in his BBC predictions column, in which he tipped West Ham to draw 1-1 at home to Chelsea this weekend.
He continued: “In his wisdom, Steidten decided to go for Julen Lopetegui, a manager with similar traits to Moyes in terms of how he is a pragmatist.
“They spent a lot of money in the summer, about £130m on new players, but are they going to do better than last season under Moyes, when they finished ninth? I am not sure they will.”
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