Carl Jenkinson believes the new arrivals at West Ham mean it could be an exciting season for the club.

The right-back spent last year on loan at Upton Park and after signing a new contract at Arsenal, has now returned for a second campaign in the East End.

Much has changed over the last few months though, with boss Sam Allardyce being replaced by Slaven Bilic, while a raft of new signings have been snapped-up by the Croatian.

Following his exploits with the England under-21s in June, Jenkinson was given some extra time off to rest and returned to the field in Tuesday’s 1-0 friendly win at Norwich.

The 23-year-old admits he was glad to get back in the action and believes the club have plenty to look forward to in what will be their final season at Upton Park before moving to the Olympic Stadium.

“It was great to be back on the pitch on Tuesday – I loved every minute of it,” Jenkinson told the club’s official website. “I was looking forward to it all day to be fair, I just wanted to get back playing football as I’ve missed it.

“There have been a lot of changes, but the change is for the positive.
You look at the players who have been brought in and they are fantastic players.

“There’s a lot of reason to be optimistic for the season because I think we’re shaping up really well.”

West Ham’s next game sees them take on Romanian side Astra Giurgiu in the first leg of the third qualifying round of the Europa League. The Hammers are 1.57 to win the match, with the draw 3.60 and the visitors the 6.00 outsiders.