West Ham surprise emerges from Italy over Taty Castellanos reveal
Taty Castellanos is the man charged with leading West Ham’s survival bid.
Castellanos was confirmed as a West Ham player on 5 January, just three days after the Hammers signed Pablo from Gil Vicente.
The Irons paid Lazio a fee of around £25.3million for the Argentine forward, but there are concerns over his lack of goalscoring form this season as Nuno Espirito Santo‘s side needs goals instantly.
However, it is a different aspect of the London Stadium transfer that has left sources in Italy surprised.
Can Taty Castellanos succeed at West Ham?
Italian football expert Maaxi Angelo believes that Castellanos will exceed expectations in East London, but did admit his surprise at the fee.
Speaking exclusively to West Ham Zone, he said: “Taty is good, he is a physical, quick and solid scorer, I doubt he alone is the difference between avoiding relegation and staying up, I think West Ham’s problems are deeper than that.
“I don’t think so [his goal record this season shouldn’t be a concern], he’s a scorer, both at Girona and Lazio in his first season.
“Lazio have struggled this season, I will say, though I was surprised that West Ham paid that much for him, it is overpriced if you ask me.
“I mean, Lazio have only scored 18 goals in 18 matches, only Lecce, Parma, Pisa, Verona and Fiorentina have scored less, Taty has 2 goals and three assists in 11 appearances, almost behind a third of their total goals.
| Club | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| New York City FC | 134 | 59 | 24 |
| Lazio | 97 | 22 | 16 |
| Girona | 37 | 14 | 1 |
| Montevideo City Torque | 30 | 5 | 3 |
| Club Universidad de Chile | 1 | 0 | 0 |
“10 goals and five assists in 29 last season, I think he’s a good striker, but overpriced and won’t save West Ham alone.”
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How did Castellanos perform on his debut?
Castellanos was named in the starting line-up against Nottingham Forest, but he struggled to make a positive impression.
He created two chances, and had three shots, but he missed two big chances and had just four touches in the final third on his debut, per Sofascore.
He was offside in the build-up to the goal that was ruled out, and lost his man for the equalising goal, in an unfortunate twist of events.
To be fair to the Argentine striker, he has probably not really trained with the team, and his new teammates are not exactly at their creative best.
However, given the money that the Hammers have spent on him, he needs to produce the goods, and quickly.
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