BBC Sport pundit slams West Ham United ‘shadow’ Pablo Fornals in Irons draw v Sheffield United
Clinton Morrison has slammed Pablo Fornals for his performance in West Ham United’s clash with Sheffield United, suggesting the midfielder is a “shadow” of his former self.
David Moyes’ side extended their winless run in all competitions to four matches with a 2-2 draw at Bramall Lane on Sunday (21 January) with Ollie McBurnie’s late penalty ensuring that the points were shared.
The clash saw Fornals make his second consecutive Premier League start, but BBC Sport pundit Morrison wasn’t impressed by the 27-year-old’s “quiet” performance suggesting it showed just how he’s regressed.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live (21 January, 15:23) he said: “West Ham have just struggled a lot this afternoon, in the first half they’ve probably created more chances in fits. They’ve made a change and Bowen has gone out onto the right, Cornet has gone through the middle and Fornals to the left-hand side.
“You just look at Fornals, a couple of years ago, he is a shadow of the player that you used to see him as. Obviously, he hasn’t had the in-game opportunities. I used to think he was a really good player but he’s been really quiet this afternoon.”
Shadow of his former self
As Morrison suggests, Fornals has not been given too many chances to impress so far this season in a West Ham shirt, but when he has been afforded the opportunity he has failed to deliver and show why he should be starting week in and week out.
The 27-year-old wasn’t awful at Bramall Lane but did very little to impact the outcome of the match as he only managed to produce one chance for his teammates and didn’t have a single shot on the Sheffield United goal.
With Lucas Paqueta and Mohammed Kudus currently unavailable, Moyes needs creative players to step up and show that they still have something to offer to the Hammers. While Cornet impressed, Fornals failed to deliver when required.
It seems almost inevitable that the Spanish midfielder will depart West Ham come the summer transfer window, but you have to wonder if the Hammers should have just shipped him out this month instead.
In other West Ham news, one pundit has slammed Alphonse Areola for an incident involving Kurt Zouma in the clash with the Blades
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