West Ham United, under Julen Lopetegui, have had a disappointing start to the 2024-25 Premier League season. After losing 2-1 to Aston Villa at home, apart from being decisive and assured in both defensive and attacking games, the competition jerseys in this game may have also contributed to the Hammers' defeat.
This season, West Ham United are still using Umbro as their kit provider as before, and have designed a new round-necked kit. But the new design doesn’t make much sense. In just the first game of the season, Michail Antonio, Tomas Soucek and Max Kilman were seen to have suffered deep cuts to their front collars.
All three were reportedly uncomfortable with the tight collars of their shirts. So the front collar was cut off. This makes it more comfortable to wear and does not impede breathing. As a result, it is very likely that the club and Umbro will open the table to discuss improving the shirts to suit the players.
This isn't the first time collared shirts have annoyed footballers, with former Real Madrid star Toni Kroos saying he hates polo shirts. As for a solution, Nike previously made Eintracht Frankfurt's 2020-21 away shirt with a collar for Martin Hinteregger. The former defender in particular after players took to cutting their own collars.