Fabian Balbuena has become the choice to skipper the Irons if and when Mark Noble is unavailable or rested.

It’s unlikely the skipper will be used over the full extent of the season and ClaretadHugh was interested to discover the fans’ choice for the job when Nobes was not around.

Virtually every player was named as a possible replacement but two of them dominated the fans’ minds – Balbuena and Declan Rice.

With over 2,000 taking part , a total of 659 went to the Paraguyan, giving him 31 per cent of the vote, with defensive midfielder Declan collecting 605 votes (29 per cent).

It was an extraordinary showing for the youngster who has come from nowhere to near top of the Hammers pile in just over two years.

Hammer of the year Lukasz Fabianski took 14 per cent of the vote with 193 votes and Aaron Creswell collected 162 (7 per cent)  with Marko Arnautovic back as fifth choice on four per cent of the vote and Robert Snodgrass and Issa Diop almost tied as next in the running.