Emmanuel Longelo shines for West Ham despite 1-0 defeat v Dinamo Zagreb
By Mark Murphy
Despite the 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb at home, there were positives to take for West Ham. One of the biggest being Emmanuel Longelo’s performance. He was given the nod by David Moyes to start the final Europa League group stage fixture at left-back.
Moyes decided to give many of the youth players minutes, regardless of the result the Irons would top the group.
Longelo, 20, stood out the most from the young faces on display. He looked comfortable on the ball and caused attacking problems down the left-hand side.
Furthermore, with Longelo proving himself against the likes of Dinamo Zagreb, it is evident he has the potential to be a valuable asset. Who knows, perhaps we could see him in the starting XI in the near future?
The Hammers may already have the likes of Aaron Cresswell and Arthur Masuaku who can play at left-back, but Longelo has made an early statement. With the league, FA Cup and Europa League fixtures in West Ham’s future, we could well see more of the man from Barking.
For all of the youngsters who featured in the fixture, it will have been a valuable experience. Not just that but playing in a European fixture will get them used to that big game pressure. It’s clear that Longelo especially was able to handle the biggest occasion of his career so far.
Irons fans have every right to be excited from what they saw from the young left-back. If performances like that continue, we could be seeing a lot more of Longelo. David Moyes could well have a big talent on his hands and will hope that said talent will get better and better.
In other West Ham United news, ExWHUemployee has shared what Jesse Lingard and his agent have told the Irons about January.
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