Hammers forgotten man Jordan Hugill has been defended by his Middlesbrough boss Tony Pulis after failing to score a single goal in his nine Championship games this season.
His only hgoal came in the early League Cu clash game against Rochdale but impressed in Boro’s fourth round victory over Palace on Wednesday evening.
He was subbed after 55 minutes which may indicate that he’s set for a first team call up Stoke City on Saturday night.
Pulis was quick to praise former Preston hitman Hugill when asked about the striker’s progress in his pre-match press conference.
He said: “I thought Hugill was very good the other night, probably the best he’s played since he came here,
“The big thing with Jordan that people have to recognise is he was signed by West Ham (in January) and never really played a game from that point onwards so he missed the second half of the season, not playing any games and he got injured in pre-season so he didn’t have a pre-season.
“So the kid’s had half a season not playing because he wasn’t selected and then he’s missed the full pre-season because he’s injured.
So he’s never, ever been as fit as he was at Preston when he was scoring goals. People have to be a little bit careful and understand the situation Jordan’s in.
“One thing I will say is he gives everything every game and on Wednesday, first half I thought he showed signs of being better than what he’s been. He will be the first one to say he hasn’t set the house on fire but there were good signs on Wednesday.”