Slow start, then four wins and a drawin five matches: West Ham under Nuno Espirito Santo made a sluggish start after last season's shocking relegation and a transfer window in which several prized assets stayed on in a bid to secure an immediate return to the Premier League. They opened with a 2-2 draw away to Burnley, then slipped to a stunning home defeat at the London Stadium in the derby against Charlton, their London rivals who were playing in League One last year. Former Lazio man Castellanos summed it up when he missed a penalty in the 93rd minute.
Revival with Bowen - The 4-0 League Cup win over Southampton changed the course of the Hammers' season and, above all, reawakened Jarrod Bowen, the England international who is a class above in the Championship and has not stopped since. Since then, they have played four matches, winning three and drawing one in the other derby, away to Watford. Those nine points came against Wolverhampton, Derby County and Bolton.
Defence needs work - Those eleven points from six matches are worth second place in the table: only WBA have done better, with 13 points. The Hammers look a class above in attack, with 14 goals already scored, but they still need to sort out quite a few things in defence after conceding 9.
Premier League squad - The strongest squad in the league deserves credit: captain Mavropanos has stayed, Morato arrived from Nottingham Forest in the transfer window and was also being tracked by major clubs such as AC Milan. Up front, Manor Solomon has arrived, the Israeli brought to Fiorentina last year by Paratici, while the surprise is young Divine Mukasa, a 19-year-old product of Manchester City's academy, already the scorer of two goals so far.