In the next part of our 2023/24 Season Review, we revisit the end of pre-season, the Irons' busy summer in the transfer market and the start of the Premier League campaign...
West Ham completed their final pre-season outing at BayArena against Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen with a 4-0 defeat, but little did they know they had faced a record-breaking side who would go on to a lift a first-ever German Bundesliga title and embark on an unimaginable 51-game unbeaten run in all competitions.
Having earned automatic qualification for the UEFA Europa League group stage for the second time in three years, Moyes and his backroom staff took their time to identify new signings in their quest to bolster the squad ahead of another gruelling schedule, with a number of high-profile international signings arriving at London Stadium in August.
Mexico international Edson Álvarez was the first to put pen to paper in a productive summer, joining on a permanent contract until June 2028 for an undisclosed fee, just two days before the Irons kicked off their 2023/24 Premier League campaign with a trip south to face AFC Bournemouth.
Over 1,300 Claret and Blue fans headed to the Vitality Stadium to raise their voices for the Hammers, as Moyes’ side were held to a late 1-1 draw.
Jarrod Bowen, who etched himself into the West Ham history books in Prague, scored the first goal of his personal record-breaking season with a stunning curling effort from outside the box, only for Dominic Solanke to rescue a point for newly-appointed Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola late on.
James Ward-Prowse then became West Ham's second summer signing on 14 August, with the England international joining from Southampton on a contract until June 2027.
And he made his Hammers debut just six days later in front of a sold-out London Stadium crowd against Chelsea. The stage was set – but my goodness, did Moyes' side deliver against their west-London rivals.
Nayef Aguerd headed us into a seventh-minute lead from debutant Ward-Prowse’s inch-perfect cross, before substitute Carney Chukwuemeka restored parity and Alphonse Areola saved a penalty from Enzo Fernández to turn the contest on its head.
Michail Antonio fired us back in front with a powerful, angled drive after 53 minutes and, despite Aguerd being shown a red card, Lucas Paquetá's late penalty yielded our first win of the season 3-1.
Buoyed by that success, coupled with the arrival of Greece international defender Dinos Mavropanos, the month concluded with another emphatic win away at Brighton and Hove Albion, as we continued our unbeaten start to the season with a 3-1 victory at the Amex Stadium.
Ward-Prowse netted his first Hammers goal after 19 minutes, tapping home from close range after good work from Antonio.
Bowen added a second before the hour mark when he controlled Saïd Benrahma's cross and poked the ball beyond goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.
And we sealed victory five minutes later with another clinical counter-attack as Bowen set up Antonio to drill a shot into the far corner.
Mohammed Kudus was the final signing of an exciting summer window as the Hammers fought off intense competition from some of Europe’s leading clubs to secure the services of the Ghana international attacker from Ajax.
And Kudus proved himself to be a shrewd acquisition across the campaign, with his 14 goals being the most scored by a West Ham United player in their first season with the Club since Mike Small netted 18 in 1991/92.
The 23-year-old netted eight goals in the Premier League, five in the UEFA Europa League and one in the EFL Cup.
The season might have kicked off, but it was just the beginning of an action-packed campaign...
