Stat Attack: West Ham’s New Boys Weren’t the Real Problem

By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)

There wasn’t much for West Ham supporters to enjoy about the 2-1 defeat against Charlton, but the game did at least provide a first proper look at new signings Joel Piroe and Arne Engels.

Perhaps the most peculiar aspect was how Nuno Espírito Santo chose to use his new striker.

West Ham started in a 4-4-1-1 with Piroe operating behind Taty Castellanos. In many respects, it looked as though Nuno had simply asked his new signing to perform the job normally given to Pablo.

That makes little sense to me.

Piroe occasionally dropped deeper looking for the ball because West Ham’s supply was poor, but much of his positioning appeared deliberate.

The problem is that he’s not Pablo. Granted, the situation was partly fixed in the second half but I spent the first 45 wondering if Nuno had seen his new striker play before.

Piroe’s Stats Tell Nuno Where To Play Him

Piroe isn’t a No.10 or a creative supplier. His greatest asset is scoring goals in the Championship and, rather predictably, his best moment came when he was exactly where you’d want him — in the penalty area.

Despite spending too much time away from goal, Piroe finished with four shots on target, six touches inside the penalty area and a goal from 1.09 xG.

His physical numbers were less impressive. The 6ft 1in striker won just one of five aerial duels and four of 12 duels overall.

None of that particularly surprises me.

When I looked closely at Piroe before his debut, the thing which stood out was that West Ham had bought a canny penalty-box operator rather than an explosive striker who was going to manufacture chances for himself.

So why ask him to spend so much time away from the penalty area?

If Nuno wants to play Piroe and Taty together, I’d be tempted to reverse their roles. Get Piroe closer to goal and allow Taty to do more of the work behind him.

Engels Neat But Unable To Unlock Charlton

Engels was a different story.

The Belgian was tidy enough in central midfield, completing 54 of his 62 passes and winning six of nine duels.

But those numbers probably flatter his influence on the game.

At no stage did I feel Engels grabbed hold of proceedings or possessed the ability to unpick Charlton’s defence when West Ham desperately needed somebody to do exactly that.

That’s particularly interesting because Engels’ creative statistics at Celtic were one of the reasons his £22million signing looked so appealing.

I also don’t think his partnership with Mohamadou Kanté helped. Engels looked more comfortable once Lewis Orford entered the midfield after half-time.

As I wrote in my reaction to the Charlton defeat, I’m certainly not writing Engels off after one game. That would be ridiculous.

The same applies to Piroe.

But there was one lesson from the striker’s debut that seemed blindingly obvious.

West Ham have bought one of the Championship’s most proven penalty-box goalscorers. Put him in the penalty box.