Adefunmiloye Alani

Sat 17 July 2021 7:10, UK

Pablo Fornals has been handed the number eight shirt by West Ham United following the departure of Felipe Anderson.

The Brazilian donned the number in his first two seasons at the London Stadium, and nobody could pick it up as he wore it at the beginning of last season before moving to Porto on loan.

Anderson has left West Ham permanently, returning to Lazio, and Fornals, 25, has taken to his personal Instagram account to share his new number.

The Brazilian attacker was happy for his friend, commenting “vai pai” (meaning “go dad” in Portuguese) on the picture:

Significant!

The Spaniard was the number 8 while at Villarreal but had to settle for the number 18 jersey upon joining us in the summer of 2019.

We know how attached some players are to some specific numbers as it has meaning to them, and the midfielder will be raring to go in his new jersey next season.

Fornals sometimes wore the number during his days as a Spain youth international, and he is definitely glad that he is West Ham’s new No. 8.

The attacker ended last season with five goals and four assists in 33 Premier League appearances for us, a commendable return after he scored just twice and assisted five others in his first season, and we can expect him to do much better next season.

Fornals played in the Europa League for two seasons while with Villarreal, and manager David Moyes can count on his experience as we prepare for the competition.

West Ham finished sixth in the Premier League last season and would hope to do something similar in 2021-22 and prove their quality in Europe.

While Anderson has left, we are yet to see a fresh face come in, and hopefully, that would change in the coming weeks as the Irons really need some quality additions.

In other West Ham news, striker is set to quit club in ‘Next few days’, Hammers ready to meet demands.

Be sure to follow West Ham Zone on Facebook and Twitter for 24/7 updates on the Hammers and more exclusive interviews with Frank McAvennie.