AT THE same time that West Ham signed Mateus Fernandes late-on last summer, presumably in a fit of panic at the last – minute realisation of Graham Potter’s woeful transfer window, Soungoutou Magassa was brought to the club in a deal worth £17 million.
The young Frenchman has had a mixed first year under first Potter and then Nuno, a debut goal at Old Trafford the season’s highlight.
At one stage West Ham looked as if they had found their dream team trio in midfield – Fernandes, Potts and Magassa looked everything the ‘slow stodgy’ trio of Alvarez, Rodriguez and Soucek were not.
Earlier in the summer Potts and Magassa modelled the new West Ham shirt
Sadly that bubble has faded and died and the Hammers now face up to life in the second tier with a definite skill shortage in midfield and Magassa nowhere to be seen in preseason.
At this stage it seems Mohamadou Kanté is ahead of Magassa in the midfield role: Magassa’s absence has been put down to a ‘knock’ but his continuing absence as the season looms over the horizon must be concerning.
Conspiracy theories will abound over some possible desire to quit the club – as they have for most senior players this summer – but even an appearance at training or on the bench would go someway to reassure supporters that he isn’t another one who has developed an aversion to Nuno or to the thought of plying his trade in the second tier of English football.