Prepare for 4 midfielders as Hammers run out of wingers
Assuming Lucas Paqueta is unavailable for tonight’s Premier League game against Bournemouth, David Moyes has a decision to make.
West Ham appears to be selling at least one of Pablo Fornals, Said Benrahma, and Maxwel Cornet. With Benrahma leaving training early yesterday and Fornals not present at all, it’s safe to assume they will not feature in the game.
So, David Moyes has a singular option on the left wing, which is Maxwel Cornet, who scored in his last game. Ordinarily, this would mean that Cornet would start at the London Stadium, but West Ham is no ordinary football club.
Cornet is also available for transfer at the right price, and Crystal Palace are keen to do a deal. With no attacking players signed, David Moyes has a bit of a selection conundrum. So whilst the Hammers’ manager might have no wingers, he does have four central midfielders, and I expect him to use them.
Prepare for 4 midfielders despite Moyes’s mind games
James Ward-Prowse could be deployed in a left midfield position, with Kalvin Phillips, Tomas Soucek, and Edson Alvarez playing centrally. It won’t be pretty, and at times it will seem ponderously slow. However, it might just work and help West Ham dominate the midfield.
It’s a sticking plaster rather than a solution, though. The Hammers desperately need to recruit a left-winger today (even though he’ll not be eligible for the game), and we need Paqueta to return as soon as possible. But Moyes’s comments regarding how careful he’ll need to be with Phillips are interesting; he’ll not have the luxury of being cautious with his selection.
I know it’ll never happen, but I’d consider giving George Earthy his shot on the wing.
Failing that, because Moyes hates kids, I think he might consider Ben Johnson in the middle of the park, or ahead of Emerson, given how well he did against Sheff Utd when he came on…