By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X).
It was the kind of headline that almost made me choke on my morning cornflakes.
“West Ham striker Pablo wanted by Serie A giants.”
Wait, what? Really?
Surely that can’t be right.
The £20 million January signing who barely looked like threatening the opposition goal, never mind scoring one, was suddenly being linked with Napoli.
According to Italian daily Il Messaggero, Pablo’s agent Jorge Mendes has been hawking the forward around Europe in an attempt to secure him top-flight football.
Have I Missed Something?
Let’s be clear, there are a number of West Ham players I expected to be considered “too good” for the Championship.
Poor old Pablo wasn’t one of them.
If anything, I wasn’t entirely convinced the 22-year-old would be a regular goalscorer in the second tier of English football.
So to hear that Jorge Mendes believes his client should be operating at the highest level of the game seems, well…
A little bit delusional. Then again, you can’t really blame an agent for trying.
That’s the job.
I’d Drive Him There
Look, I’ve got nothing against the player himself.
Pablo seems like an honest, hard-working lad whose high-energy pressing helped West Ham defend from the front.
But if anyone offered anything close to the money West Ham paid for him, I’d bite their hand off.
Napoli secured second place in Serie A with a 1-0 win over Udinese on the final day of the season.
That means Champions League football.
And if Pablo finds himself running out in Europe’s premier club competition next season, I’ll be demanding a refund from my optician.
As a number 9 would agree with you Gonzo and equally if someone offered what we paid.
In defence of Pablo he is great at occupying defenders and winning the ball back, maybe season in the Championship could help him, his lack of pace will be less problematic though I suspect if a bid comes in close to what we paid he will be gone.
I remember the experts saying that Sir Trevor Brooking was to slow and that West Ham would be better off without him, when he was young. Give the Player the chance to grow into his full strength, or you might regret that car journey.
Football is subjective and no-one persons opinion is right or wrong, but what happened to West Ham fans loving players that run and put a shift in for the badge. Isn’t that part of the west ham way. Dowie couldnt hit a barn door but we loved him. The lad works so hard and although he didn’t bring goals and at times looked like bambi on the ball, he was part of the shift in mentality that gave us a fighting chance on the last day when we were dead and buried before he and Taty brought their energy uplift to the team. Let’s not also forget, he almost played CM most games and never a number 9 where I’m sure he scored his goals in Portugal. I am actually hopeful he stays and bangs 20 goals in next year in the championship!
Gonzo I feel that’s a little harsh, you know it takes some players a season to get use to the harsh physical Premiership. He came in half way through the season into a team that was playing poorly with no confidence. Ok he didn’t set the world on fire but he ran himself to a standstill most games and did his best to contribute. He never complained and I think can hold his head high for his efforts in a short peroid of time. Shoot me down if you think I’m wrong but he wasn’t bought for £80 mil either.
Get in the queue!🤣🤣🚙
Happy to share the driving with you. Worst forward I have ever seen in a West Ham shirt. Makes Boogers look good!
I think the stick he’s got as a young lad coming into the toughest league in the world is outrageous. He worked hard and there were positive glimpses of a decent player. Brentford in the cup leading the line he looked good. He got injured and that broke his rhythm but we improved A LOT with him and Taty in the team. Play him, develop him, and sell at a profit.
Maiga, Savio, McCarthy, McDougall. Just saying