West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui has been speaking to the media before Saturday’s Premier League game against Fulham (kick-off 15:00 BST).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
On how his team is shaping up following the international break, Lopetegui said: “We are waiting for the last players. Until this afternoon, we are not going to have all of them. We will evaluate all of them and how they are.”
Summer signing Niclas Fullkrug has “a little problem” sustained on duty with Germany. “Today we are going to see how he is and tomorrow we will make the last decision.”
In more positive news, goalkeeper Alphonse Areola is “OK” and “recovered well,” after being substituted at half-time in the loss to Manchester City.
The international break has been a chance to work with the players, but “unfortunately” a lot were away, so it “wasn’t an easy time”.
On new signing Carlos Soler: “He is a good player – a good age. He will help us because he can play in different positions. We’ve worked with him these past two weeks because he was without a normal pre-season.”
He has mixed feelings about the transfer window: “We did the best that we could. We tried to improve the squad in different positions. At the deadline, we lost James [Ward-Prowse] but we signed Soler. We lost [Nayef] Aguerd and didn’t sign a centre-back so that is why we have to look towards the academy players for this position.”
On whether London derbies carry more importance than other games: “We have to face each match with the same importance. They are all going to be difficult matches for us and for the opponent. Right now, our focus and mind is on Fulham – they are a very balanced team, they work with the same coach and have a very clear style. We have to be ready.”
Follow all of Thursday’s Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day’s football news
