The Premier League takes no prisoners: Ruthless, unforgiving and intensely physical. Any weakness of body or mind is likely to have a massive effect upon a player’s confidence and ability to give the full 100% required even to stand a chance of success.
The division is littered with stars who’ve endured bad tackles or career threatening injuries – Dean Ashton, Manu Lanzini, Jack Collison are Hammers’ examples that spring readily to mind of players who never made it back to their pre-injury potential.
According to former Irish international Kevin Kilbane writing in the Irishtimes.com, the same fate may well have befallen loanee Evan Ferguson.
Ferguson – still lacking the sharpness
When Graham Potter signed the youngster on loan he was hoping he’d brought in a fit and mentally tough forward:
“To be fair to Potter, he would have played Ferguson if he saw a sharp centre forward in training”
Suggests Kilbane, but the reality is different since:
“but since that horror tackle by Fabinho in January 2023 – when the Brazilian went down the back of Evan’s Achilles and ankle”.
Kilbane’s unspoken but implied suggestion is that the sharpness is missing and replaced by a hesitancy following ‘that’ injury, and that therefore Ferguson is not the player Potter thought he was getting.
Which would explain the bench-sitting for large parts of the Brighton loanee’s period. There is still time for him to have an impact in Claret and Blue but it is clear now why he will most likely be returned to The Seagulls at the end of his loan having been deemed unsuitable for consideration for the full time striker position at West Ham. Shame. I hope he sorts himself out: His age is on his side even if he takes another year to find his way back to 100% commitment. It won’t be in a West Ham shirt though.
That explains a lot. Fully fit and firing Fullkrug and Ferguson as no 9s would have been nice to see at the club. Definitely hope it will all come together for him with time.