West Ham in crisis after two defeats as January recruitment is eyed

West Ham United's season slid further into crisis this week as successive defeats — a 2-0 home loss to Brentford on Monday followed by a 2-1 defeat at Leeds on Friday — left the London club 19th in the Premier League with four points from nine games and their new head coach still searching for a first league victory. Both matches exposed defensive frailties, prompted fresh questions about team selection and intensified calls for reinforcements ahead of the January transfer window.

At the London Stadium Brentford dominated from the start, registering more than 20 attempts and taking the lead two minutes before half time when Igor Thiago converted after a long ball disrupted West Ham's defence. The visitors wrapped up the win in stoppage time through Mathias Jensen. The match was Nuno Espirito Santo's first home game in charge and took place amid a planned supporter boycott of the fixture in protest at the club's board, leaving many empty seats and a subdued atmosphere. After the game Nuno said, "We have a problem," adding that concern among fans had translated into anxiety for the squad. Brentford manager Keith Andrews described his side's performance as "the most complete" of...