Amid all of the news regarding ‘players on their way out’ of London Stadium, be it rumoured part exchanges like Flynn Downes , subsidised sales like Danny Ings or listed ‘for sale’ such as Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd, there’s been one name notably absent.
Following a pretty disastrous spell since joining West Ham in summer 2022 for £17.5 million, it is fair to say that fortune has been hiding for alleged winger Maxwel Cornet. What seemed to be a massive falling-out with David Moyes over his calf injury and choice to leave the UK to receive what seemed like never-ending treatment, led to him being overlooked for virtually the whole of last season once he was finally fit again.
Moyes did seem to take against players and if you were on ‘the naughty step’ it seemed there was no way back: Cornet definitely seemed frozen out for good.
Cornet’s time to shine?
So it has come as a bit of a surprise that there’s been no headlines of sale, (maybe nobody wants him?) part exchange for KWP – after all, we seem to have offered every other option to Southampton in part exchange – or a loan move for the Hammers number 17. It would seem that Lopetegui’s stated aim to assess the whole squad with fresh eyes is a definite bonus for Cornet, who has the potential to fulfil a huge role for us being the only out-and-out left footed, left winger in the squad.
He should be flying now after his layoff, rested, in his prime at 27 and hopefully eager to impress the new management to rescue his career. With some of the prices being quoted for other wingers being north of £35 million, Cornet could perform a valuable role for West Ham this season and the absence of any rumour of his departure can be seen as very encouraging for those of us who support the team. A fit, firing, fast and furious Cornet bombing down the left would be a sight for sore eyes.
Plus of course we could use funds to acquire the right back, striker and other squad members without having to prioritise a left sided forward. I’m going to keep hoping we DON’T see more news of a Cornet move – apart from the December ’23 rumours linking him with an exit to Turkey for a massive £10 million loss under Moyes, nothing is on the radar. Could be as exciting as a new signing, if he has the fitness and an attitude unlocked by our new Head Coach.
Buoyed with optimism and positivity around this new era I can certainly buy in to players already on the books fulfilling their potential and kicking on. This goes for Downes, Aguerd and Mavropanos amongst others. But stretching it to Cornet may be a step too far for me. What I saw time and again was him given a chance and not grabbing it, being caught offside far too often, not clinical in front of goal and simply not making an impact. Hopefully Max proves me wrong but I’ve seen very little from him to get me off my seat.
IMO he’s the reason we dont need a left back. Played there and excelled for Lyon before Burnley.
For the life of me I don’t know how Moyes could ignore him because when ever he came on as sub he always made an impact by scoring or an assist from a cross. So glad Moyes has moved on and Cornet gets a proper opportunity to play regularly.
Next you’ll be giving him a 99 rating, all joking aside he was fantastic at Burnley which is why we bought him, now he has the chance to show the manager exactly what he has in his locker and his best years are still ahead of him, so come on maxwell and make yourself a hammers legend.
This makes total sense to me as he is a decent player IMO and why waste money like you say…use it to strengthen the squad in areas needed…..getting the best out of a player already in the squad comes from good man management and coaching and from the current charm offensive it would seem we have a team who can do just that
I was excited when we signed him from Burnley where he was scoring for fun. I thought with better players around him he would be even better but as with many signings Moyes just couldn’t see past his own arrogance and stubbornness and chose to put him on the bench and destroy his self confidence and belief. I always remember seeing Scamaca sat on the floor. Yeah I think Cornet will be like a new signing and the money can be spent upfront (hopefully). Can’t wait for the season to start COYI’s⚒️⚒️⚒️⚒️
I agree he has something about him, he probably received no encouragement whatsoever from Moyes? He certainly wasn’t a man motivator or great coach.Someone who would take cornet to one side and advise him what he has to do,to be involved in the first team squad.