On paper Pablo Fornals is the perfect understudy and replacement for Manuel Lanzini should he fail a late fitness test tomorrow.
The Spanish 23-year-old has been waiting patiently on the bench having to make do with substitute appearances after his £24m move from Villareal this summer but could be his chance to grab a regular first-team place.
Fornals told the Sun “In the Premier League I am not playing as much as I would like but it’s normal. I’m new. I’m waiting for my opportunity, I am waiting for these matches.
“I love the support. In Spain, I never saw any away fans really. At Villareal the home crowd is the same as West Ham take away.
“There weren’t thousands who travelled everywhere to see us. I love it.”
Fornals has yet to make a full debut in the Premier League having been a substitute in all five Premier League games for West Ham this season playing a combined 164 minutes although he played the full 90 minutes against Newport in the league cup.
There might be no better chance then to prove his £24m in front of 60,000 on Sunday at the London Stadium against Manchester United.
Should Lanzini miss tomorrow hopefully the young midfielder gets the nod ahead of Jack Wilshere tomorrow afternoon.
