West Ham let him leave for £1.2m - now he can be their ideal summer signing | OneFootball

West Ham United should consider re-signing Manchester City striker Divin Mubama on loan this summer

Championship football awaits West Ham United next season, but first, a huge summer window, in which head coach Nuno Espirito Santo will have the chance to shape the Irons squad in his image.

39 points in the Premier League were not enough for West Ham, who will be playing second-tier football for the first time in 14 years next campaign.

Graham Potter began the season in charge and oversaw what was, on paper, a solid summer transfer window, with the likes of Jean-Clair Todibo, Mateus Fernandes, and El Hadji Malick Diouf signed for multi-million-pound fees, whilst Callum Wilson and Kyle Walker-Peters added depth on free deals.

However, those additions could not stop the Irons' fate, as despite Nuno's best efforts since taking the mantle from Potter, the Portuguese boss could not keep them up.

A huge window awaits this summer, with a large portion of the squad, including the likes of Jarrod Bowen, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and Crysencio Summerville, expected to depart.

Reinforcements will be required in due course, especially up top, with both Taty Castellanos and Pablo Felipe likely to follow the aforementioned Wilson out of the exit door, as Nuno should look to Manchester City to solve his impending striker issue and complete the return of a former youngster.

West Ham United should look to re-sign Divin Mubama on loan from Manchester City this summer

Action images

Sir Geoff Hurst, Vic Watson, and Paolo Di Canio are widely considered to be three of the best West Ham strikers of all time, though in the modern era, the Irons have been as fortuitous when it comes to number nines.

The likes of Modibo Maiga, Simone Zaza, Albian Ajeti, and Jonathan Calleri are just a handful of strikers the Irons have not been so fortunate to have over recent years, with the club consistently relying on Michail Antonio for over a decade before his departure.

Since then, Niclas Fullkrug, Wilson, Castellanos, and Felipe have all deputised up top to varying degrees of success, and with the likelihood that none of them will be at the club within the next few months ever increasing, it's time for the Irons to be on the hunt for a striker or two once again.

However, the answer to their problems may be more obvious than they realise, as Nuno should look to sanction the loan switch of former youngster and current Manchester City forward Divin Mubama this summer.

Mubama, 21, came through the ranks in East London, scoring prolifically for the club's youth sides, and going on to make 18 first-team appearances for the Irons before leaving for Man City in the summer of 2024, with the Citizens paying just £1.2 million compensation for his services.

Competing for game time with Erling Haaland was always going to be a tough task for anyone, let alone the England youth international, who subsequently spent the 2025/26 campaign on loan with Stoke City.

With the Potters, Mubama managed just five goals and one assist in 26 Championship appearances, in what was his first taste of consistent first-team football in his career.

Three of those goals came in one game against Bristol City, whilst the other two came in the opening two games of the campaign against Derby County and Sheffield Wednesday.

A strong challenge from Jimmy Dunne in Stoke's goalless home clash against Queens Park Rangers in January kept the striker out for almost the rest of the season, as he would manage just one appearance thereafter.

When fit, Mubama was the Potters' first-choice option up top, and showed glimpses of his undoubted talent, capable of holding up the ball to great effect, offering a focal point for passes to be sprayed into up top, and linking play up well with his surrounding teammates.

Though injuries disrupted his campaign, a year of Championship experience is now firmly under his belt, and given he knows West Ham like the back of his hand, he would take little adaptation time to the London Stadium, and could take the second tier by storm next season, and is someone Nuno should absolutely consider.

Nuno Espirito Santo must consider all options for West Ham United's centre-forward role this summer, as Divin Mubama should be in the conversation

Action images

With West Ham's poor recent history of signing centre-forwards, this summer presents a new opportunity for the club to change that perception.

When deciding on the number nine that will lead their line for the next campaign, Nuno simply must take all of his options into account to ensure that he has the best possible option up top.

The Championship, whilst it is of course a step down in terms of quality from the Premier League, will pose different kinds of problems for the Irons, who will likely have to contend with being the side faced with the most pressure to win in the majority of their games next season.