It would be something of an understatement to suggest West Ham’s summer signing Callum Wilson was greeted with a lukewarm welcome.
After all, the striker arrived via David Sullivan’s favoured agent, Will Salthouse, and many fans suspected a bit of skulduggery behind the deal.
As for Wilson himself, it’s fair to say he’s spent more than his fair share of time on the treatment table—and at 32, he’s hardly a spring chicken. So it was understandable why some fans feared a crock signing and maybe even a hint of palm greasing.
Wilson impressed against Forest
However, Wilson’s cameo against Nottingham Forest certainly made a few supporters sit up and say: “Actually, this fella still has something to offer.” A goal, two shots on target, and even blocking Jarrod Bowen’s goal-of-the-season contender showed Wilson can still do the business at Premier League level—if he stays fit.
None of this came as a surprise to former West Ham manager Sam Allardyce, who is impressed with the capture.
Allardyce approves of Sully’s signing
“If you keep Wilson fit, you’ve got plenty of goals, mate. What a good signing that’ll be. You’ve got him on a free, he’s in his 30s, but if you can keep him fit—even if it’s sparingly—he will score goals. He’ll finish games off for you,” Allardyce said.
With Niclas Füllkrug now sidelined, I’m not sure how sparingly West Ham can afford to use Wilson. But the striker nobody wanted has quickly become a crucial part of Graham Potter’s attack.
In theory he could be more useful than ever if used sparingly to keep him fit. Trouble is we have another injury crocked player so Wilson might have to play more games than his body can cope with.
He’s been a prolific scorer, no doubt, but now each time he plays it’s a toss up if he scores or goes off injured. But he is capable.
Also shows the stupidity of not signing a back up so let’s hope Marshall can step up.
My gripes about Wilson did not include him not being a decent player, he’s good enough. I griped about the lack of ambition in signing an injury prone 32 year old. I have no problem with him starting against Tottenham I just wonder how long it will be before he’s in the treatment room.