West Ham start Championship campaign as favourites amid ownership dispute
West Ham United begin the 2026-27 Championship campaign after relegation from the Premier League and enter the season as bookmakers' favourites to win the title. The club prepare for life outside the top flight while an ownership struggle plays out behind the scenes.
Declan Rice lifting the Europa Conference League trophy in 2023 delivered West Ham's first major trophy in 43 years, following a Europa League semi-final the season before and a European quarter-final in 2024. The club also finished sixth and seventh in the Premier League in 2021 and 2022, a recent period of relative success that makes the current relegation notable. This will be West Ham's first season outside the top flight for 14 years, although they have achieved an immediate return before, winning promotion in 2011-12. The London Stadium remains the biggest stadium in Championship history.
Recent precedent among relegated Premier League clubs is mixed: in the past seven seasons at least one relegated side has bounced straight back, while Newcastle United returned immediately after relegations in 2010 and 2017. Aston Villa eventually regained top-flight status after three years, including a 13th-placed Championship finish and a play-off final defeat along the way. By contrast, Leicester City, Blackburn Rovers and Leeds United are cited as examples of how quickly decline can follow, with Leicester now in League One "this season," Blackburn dropping to League One in 2017 after earlier Championship relegation in 2012, and Leeds taking 16 years and a spell in the third tier before returning to the Premier League.
Jarrod Bowen has been central to West Ham's plans: he has made 131 goal contributions in 228 games for the club since the start of the 2021-22 season and has been top scorer in four of the past five campaigns. The article also notes Bowen has netted 76 times in 227 games in all competitions and provided 53 assists. Bowen scored and set up a goal in Saturday's 3-1 EFL Cup win over Portsmouth, a match attended by more than 53,000 fans, and after committing his future he said: "It was a no-brainer for me to be here and the vision is clear," adding, "It's the Premier League." He warned of the challenge ahead: "It's 46 tough games, midweek, Saturday, Tuesday, Friday," Bowen said. "There's going to be disappointment at times, there's going to be a lot of pressure on us to go and win the league straight away. "That's our aim, but I'm telling you now, it's not going to be as easy as that."
Manager Nuno Espirito Santo has emphasised the difficulty of the Championship and retained his role for the campaign, saying: "Normally when a team drops to the Championship, you have to be the favourite, mainly because our objective is to go back to the Premier League," and adding, "We realise how hard it's going to be. We're going to have to be resilient, to keep going. "Tight schedule, very tough competition, a lot of good teams with the same aspirations as ourselves. "But we are ready for the challenge." His previous Championship record is cited: Nuno won 30 of his 46 games (D9 L7) in charge of Wolves the last time he managed in the division, amassing 99 points. Ex-Nottingham Forest and Ipswich Town defender Luke Chambers described keeping Nuno as "almost like having an £80m signing coming in. He is top, top level."
Off-field issues could complicate recruitment and reinvestment after several high-profile exits. Midfielder Mateus Fernandes joined Tottenham for £85m, winger Crysencio Summerville moved to Al-Hilal for £60m and academy graduate Freddie Potts signed for Club Brugge. The club reported a £104.2m loss in their most recent accounts and must contend with new Squad Cost Rules (SCR), while a consortium led by Amanda Staveley has agreed to buy the Gold family's 25% stake and co-chair Daniel Kretinsky has publicly opposed the deal. Nuno commented on transfer planning: "It's not about the money. We don't have too much time, but what we can't afford is mistakes," adding, "We have to make it right. To avoid mistakes is crucial this year. The player that comes in the door has to have the same purpose and be identified with the mission we have ahead."
The squad has seen arrivals and further changes ahead of the season opener: Manor Solomon joined from Tottenham for £5m, Joel Veltman has signed, Mexico international Edson Alvarez has returned from loan, and James Ward-Prowse and George Earthy have returned to the club from Burnley and Bristol City respectively. Axel Disasi has returned to Chelsea and Callum Wilson has joined Brentford. The article notes West Ham have sold 50,000 season tickets and that keeping hold of players attracting interest, including Konstantinos Mavropanos, will be important; goalkeeper Mads Hermansen said: "We are going to face the pressure, that's our job," adding, "We are West Ham, we are the biggest club in the league and we want to show that we are going straight back up."
West Ham's first Championship fixture is a visit to Burnley on Sunday, and there is time for further squad additions before that game. Keeping key starters and resolving the ownership and financial issues are presented in the article as essential for the club's aim of an immediate return to the Premier League.
