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Morato has reunited with Nuno Espirito Santo for a spell at the London Stadium

It has been an intriguing return to Championship life for West Ham United, with a first win of their league season coinciding with a rather hectic end to the summer transfer window.

Nuno Espírito Santo had already begun to see the pressure mount on his shoulders after a tepid 1-1 draw at Watford on Saturday afternoon, but this was followed up by the Hammers' first win at the London Stadium since their relegation with a breathless 4-2 success over Wolves.

It has also been an intriguing window of transfer activity in East London, with many of the Portuguese's new recruits moving to E20 in the latter stages of the summer after missing out on a plethora of previously-linked targets in all departments of the pitch.

Despite the fact the Hammers were able to retain the services of Konstantinos Mavropanos - the club's Player of the Year for 2025/26 - and add the services of Joel Veltman on a free transfer following his summer departure from Brighton and Hove Albion, it became apparent that Nuno was in search of further defensive depth, having now conceded seven goals in four league matches.

And, being successful in those aims, the 52-year-old has reunited with someone he knows exceptionally well from recent times, who will be hoping to rekindle his own form after an indifferent period at Nottingham Forest.

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The transfer in question is, of course, Morato's loan switch from the Premier League side to West Ham, having been on the books at the City Ground for two years, but that has come under a plethora of managers.

However, the one who was responsible for his £12.6m switch from Liga Portugal giants, Benfica, was indeed Nuno, as Forest went on a remarkable journey in his first season in the East Midlands.

That said, Morato wasn't exactly the first-choice defensive option, finding it tough to oust Murillo and Ousmane Diakite from the starting lineup, but he was still able to make 26 appearances in the Premier League, albeit just six of those were starts.

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Last season was one of immense chaos for Forest, but one in which they were eventually able to avoid relegation from the Premier League under four different managers, with Nuno the first of three to leave 12 months ago before his eventual switch to West Ham.

Again, Morato wasn't afforded the largest amount of gametime in the top-flight, albeit this time 14 of his 21 appearances came from the starting lineup, with the majority of those also coming under Vitor Pereira.

However, he was able to play a key role in the club's UEFA Europa League run, where they made the semi-final stage before being defeated by Midlands rivals, Aston Villa, in a 4-1 aggregate score, with Unai Emery's team eventually ending their 30-year trophy drought in the final.

Morato played in 14 of the Tricky Trees' 16 matches on route to the last four, which also included a stint at left-back against FC Porto in the first leg of the quarter-final stage, and his performances didn't go unnoticed.

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As is the case every season, UEFA will select a Team of the Season for the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League decided by a Technical Observer Group, and Morato's strong performances certainly warranted an inclusion in their eyes.

Averaging 82 minutes across his 14 appearances in the competition, the Brazilian was the only one of two players from the Reds to be included along with Igor Jesus, with the rest of the defence made up of Victor Gomez, Matthias Ginter and Oscar Mingueza of SC Braga, SC Freiburg and Celta Vigo respectively.

There were also four Villa representatives, including £117m man, Morgan Rogers, which is a further testament to how the 25-year-old fared in a gruelling campaign.

Nuno will hope Morato showcases why he was one of Europe's 'best' in the Championship

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It remains to be seen if Morato will slot straight into Nuno's defence, but he would certainly provide a strong balance alongside Mavropanos in front of Mads Hermansen if that was to be the case.

Given the gruelling nature of Forest's 2025/26 campaign in all competitions, Morato will certainly be used to the demands of the Championship schedule more than most West Ham players, given how the European fixture schedule has changed since the Hammers were last involved in Europe themselves in 2023/24.

But, as his Forest career is yet to fully get going and Oliver Glasner hadn't selected him in any matches before his loan switch was finalised, this is a strong chance for Morato to get back on track, whilst West Ham hope to gain momentum quickly.