West Ham Zone View: Hammers must stick with frustrating player
There is arguably no player in the Premier League in recent years who has proved to be as frustrating to his supporters as West Ham United star Jack Wilshere.
We all know that the England international is an immensely gifted footballer, but his constant injury problems have made him the butt of plenty of jokes.
On Friday, former Three Lions striker Darren Bent spoke abut the 28-year-old’s situation: “I’m a big fan of Jack Wilshere,” he told Football Insider.
“Big fan, always have been, I’ve probably backed him when people have said ‘you crazy’ as I’m that big of a believer in Jack.
“And with these injuries and what has happened to him over the course of time, he’s probably thinking to himself, ‘where do I go next?’
“Even if the West Ham board do go we want to sell you, he might not have anywhere to go, and you’d like to think every top team in the Championship would want him, but Premier League teams can they really rely on him? If he can only manage two games here and there. So I think he’s probably worried about where he could go if he does leave West Ham.”
Bent’s got a definite point, here. Wilshere does need to start thinking about what’s next for him if he can’t stay fit and make an impression at the London Stadium.
However, from an Irons perspective, they simply need to stick with him. Nobody’s going to pay a fee to get him out of his big-money contract, and so David Moyes simply needs to work with him and see if he can get him fit and back to his best.
The former Arsenal man has only made eight appearances this campaign, though, scoring once in the Carabao Cup.
Yet we know he has ability, and the Hammers aren’t exactly blessed with central midfield talent.
That, combined with the fact that no-one’s actually going to buy him, means that the east London club must resign themselves to helping him stay fit and to praying that he gets back to his peak level.
In other West Ham news, one of Bent’s former Three Lions colleagues believes that recent events will have unsettled one Irons regular.