‘He looked bored’ – Exclusive: McAvennie disappointed by Yarmolenko in West Ham loss v Man Utd
We’re delighted to welcome former West Ham United striker Frank McAvennie as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the London Stadium…
Frank McAvennie has slammed West Ham attacker Andriy Yarmolenko for his performance in the FA Cup defeat to Manchester United on Tuesday night.
With Michail Antonio ruled out due to “fatigue“, David Moyes opted to name Yarmolenko, 31, as the lone striker in his system at Old Trafford.
However, the Ukraine international made little impact up front, with stats by Wyscout showing he had just one shot at goal, which was off target, had one touch inside the penalty box and completed just six passes before he was forced off in the 54th minute.
As quoted by football.london, Moyes confirmed after the 1-0 defeat that Yarmolenko “opened up his knee ligaments a little bit”, so it remains to be seen whether he’ll be available to play versus Sheffield United on Monday night in the Premier League.
However, it seems that if Antonio is fit, McAvennie would rather see him start as a striker after being thoroughly disappointed by Yarmolenko’s performance in the FA Cup defeat at Old Trafford.
“He’s not a centre-forward, that’s for sure. He was strolling about the park up front,” McAvennie told West Ham Zone.
“He looked bored and I thought [Sebastien] Haller had come back.
“It’s a shame because he’s not a regular first-team player anymore. He’s a talent but I look at his body language and I never see him sprint once. I’m thinking, ‘that’s not right’.
“But listen, he’s all David had to play and it didn’t work.”
Yarmolenko can play as a centre-forward but it’s hardly a position he’s been used to playing in for West Ham as the Ukrainian has mainly featured on the wings.
However, it was always going to be a tough match for the former Borussia Dortmund man at Old Trafford against an in-form Man United team.
Yarmolenko has only started seven matches in all competitions this season and only one of them has been in the Premier League.
It would have probably been a struggle for him to impress even if he played in a more natural wide role so to lump him up front was a risky move by Moyes.
However, if Antonio is unavailable then playing Yarmolenko as the lone striker could be Moyes’ only option due to the failure to sign a new centre-forward in January after Haller left for Ajax.
In other West Ham news, Moyes was proud of his players despite their defeat to Man United in the FA Cup.