By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)
It’s easy to understand why West Ham fans want Pablo to do well. After all, God loves a trier, and it’s always been said that Hammers fans will back anyone who gives 100%.
For that reason, January’s £20 million signing from Gil Vicente is a tough one to discuss. He seems like a good lad and appears genuinely delighted to have represented the club and been given the opportunity to move from footballing obscurity into the spotlight.
But unfortunately, what has become abundantly clear is that Pablo appears to be unsuited to the English game. And that’s putting it kindly.
Let’s be fair, if Pablo Felipe was an absolute wrong’un with a stinking attitude, he’d be getting dog’s abuse by now because, frankly, he’s not good enough.
Hard work can only take you so far
When Nuno Espírito Santo decided to spend £20 million of the club’s money on the son of his former team-mate in January, I don’t think expectations were especially high. Hammers fans understood we couldn’t get the pick of the bunch from the transfer market while battling relegation.
But at the very least, most of us expected to sign a player who was competent in the basics of the game, which, unfortunately, Pablo is not.
Apologists for the transfer point out that the 22-year-old has time on his side to develop. But his lack of technique, awareness and ponderous style are so far behind the required standard that it’s difficult to see any amount of coaching bridging the gap.
People point to his work rate, pressing, tackling and willingness to close down, all of which are admirable qualities. But for the money paid, you have to at least threaten to put the ball in the back of the net. Unfortunately, the young Brazilian looks a million miles away.
His first touch is so poor that his second touch is invariably a tackle or a wrestle as he struggles to regain control of the ball. His ability to turn, pass and run all takes so much time that it slows down the whole team’s ability to attack.
Nuno’s faith worries me more than Pablo himself
Of course, there are those who point out that the team performs better with him in it, and that argument certainly had some merit on occasions last season.
But I’m unconvinced by claims that the Championship will better suit his level and that he is poised to take the EFL by storm.
Which brings us back to Espírito Santo, who clearly saw something in Pablo’s ability that persuaded him to sign off on the transfer. But £20 million is a lot to pay for an honest worker and willing runner who lacks the very basics of pace, control, passing, positioning and agility.
At the moment, I’m absolutely terrified the club are not in the market for another striker, which we so desperately need, because Nuno is going to stick to his policy of playing Pablo.
Every manager has a blind spot, of course, and it would be cruel to suggest using this striker is like playing with 10 men. After all, every building site needs a labourer, right?
But there comes a point where he is taking a place in the team that would be better filled by somebody with a cutting edge. That might be outright pace, shooting, dribbling or the vision to play a defence-splitting pass. Any one of those attributes would be an upgrade on what Pablo is currently giving us.
I genuinely hope I’m proven wrong and the striker turns out to be far better than I suspect. Unfortunately, there now appears to be such a large body of evidence suggesting he simply isn’t up to the standard required at West Ham.