West Ham fans react as forgotten stars included in official squad photo

West Ham fans were confused on Thursday when the Hammers’ first-team squad photo was revealed.

The Irons published the shot on their social media channels, with manager Nuno Espirito Santo sporting a plain expression as he was flanked by club captain Jarrod Bowen and summer signing Arne Engels to both sides.

The photograph captured all the Championship side’s stars, from Tomas Soucek to Konstantinos Mavropanos, but Hammers supporters were perplexed at the sight of three stars who have hardly played a minute all season.

Alvarez, the £35million midfielder signed in 2023 from Ajax, has played just once this term, managing 54 minutes in the Carabao Cup victory over Portsmouth in early August.

The Mexican had spent half of the 2025/26 campaign on loan at Fenerbahce in Turkey, and he had been widely expected to leave the London Stadium following the Irons’ relegation from the Premier League.

The 29-year-old stuck around, however, and there was some optimism from Hammers fans that he would be integrated into the squad ahead of their second-tier campaign after his appearance against Pompey.

Cornet, who joined the club from Burnley back in 2022, was pictured in the front row of the photo, having not played a single minute this term in claret and blue.

The Ivorian has had two loan spells away from the club, joining Southampton and Genoa in the past couple of seasons.

Forgotten man: Edson Alvarez

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Magassa, meanwhile, joined the Hammers for £17m from Monaco in 2025, but he struggled to make in impact in the top flight.

The same has been the case in the Championship, with the Frenchman not playing at all this term.

He has featured four matchday squads across the league and Carabao Cup, but has been an unused substitute in all of those matches.

Fans on X were bemused at the trio’s inclusion in the photo, with one jokingly responding: “Mr Cornet, you’re alive,” while another wrote: “Maxwel made it to the team photo but never a starting XI.”

One supporter joked: “Have we signed four new players?” in the comments section.