Pellegrini will be Cheik…ing out a vital role

By Allen Cummings

Few players divided opinion more last season than Cheikhou Kouyate.

The former fan’s favourite who had the honour of scoring West Ham’s very first competitive goal at the London Stadium, in a Europa League game against NK Domzale on 4^th August 2016, found himself under intense scrutiny and on the end of some fierce criticism from media and supporters alike.

Many were less than happy with some of his distinctly lack-lustre performances, and weren’t afraid to say so.

To be fair, that criticism could easily have been aimed at more than a few of his team mates, too but  Kouyate was singled out for particularly fierce attention.

Playing in the highly visible engine room of the team, where energy and stamina is everything, Kouyate often seemed off the pace and wanting in both departments.

There were growing calls for him to be dropped. Many would clearly have liked to have seen him shipped out of the club completely.

But the fact that he started 33 Premier League games in total last season, first under Slaven Bilic and then continuing as a regular under David Moyes, suggested neither manager shared the opinion of certain sections of the fans. Towards the end of the campaign though Cheikhou looked to be regaining his old appetite and form. And as the team improved, so did he.

Now under Manuel Pellegrini there are suggestions Cheikhou, rather than be surplus to requirements, could well be about to play a vital role in the new manager’s plans for the future, the kind of role he was originally brought into the club to perform.

When Sam Allardyce signed him from Anderlecht in August 2014 for around £7m he went on record as comparing Kouyate to Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira, whose box to box game was so vital to the gunners’ success. Now the speculation is that Pellegrini might see Kouyate in the same role to a similar player he knew very well, Yaya Toure at Manchester City where he seriously exploited his box to box approach.

He relied heavily on Toure’s midfield power and influence during their three years together where he was his work horse – his heartbeat in the middle of the park. So much of what City did went through Toure. It’s a vital position in the team and it might just be Kouyate’s for the taking.

Currently captaining Senegal’s national team at the World Cup in Russia, Kouyate will have the perfect stage to show his new manager just what he has to offer.

He is a player  in the same mould as Toure and the big fella’s problems of last season could become a thing of the past. The player who looked as if he might be on his way out of the door, could soon be very much back in favour!