Joe Cole: Flynn Downes to win promotion to West Ham United starting XI after what happened v Anderlecht
Joe Cole predicts Flynn Downes to be a mainstay of the West Ham starting line-up before the end of the season after he impressed against Anderlecht on Thursday.
Downes, 23, has found game-time hard to come by since his arrival at the London Stadium in the summer.
However, the Brentwood-born midfielder proved to Cole why he should be a starter for David Moyes in the Premier League based on how well he played in the 1-0 Europa Conference League win on 6 October.
“I thought for a young boy coming into a European game did excellent,”said Cole on BT Sport 2 on Thursday night (7 October, 07:38pm).
Cole added: “Downes, the young lad, looks now like he’s a real option for the club and one of those signings, that by the end of the season, I expect him to be a regular.”
Carlton Cole then said: “He’s going to be challenging Soucek as well.”
Give me a chance
Soucek has been rotten this season for both West Ham and the Czech Republic.
In fact, his poor form goes back as far as last season with the former Slavia Prague man really struggling to impress alongside Declan Rice in the midfield with Rice’s form also suffering.
Downes has played just five times since his arrival at the London Stadium in the summer.
West Ham paid around £12million to Swansea to sign the boyhood Irons fan but so far, his game-time has been very limited and he hasn’t played in the Premier League since a one-minute-long cameo in the opening day defeat to Manchester City.
Why doesn’t Moyes trust him in the Premier League?
While we accept that most top-flight English clubs are better than Anderlecht, it says a lot that the former England Under-20 international is performing well in Europe.
Soucek cannot continue to think his spot in the starting line-up is guaranteed; it’s probably one of the reasons why he’s playing so badly.
Downes needs more opportunities.