Journalist compares West Ham star to former Hammer Joao Mario
West Ham United playmaker Pablo Fornals has endured a frustratingly tough time of things of late, despite his fine form over the past few months.
The Spaniard was one of the better performers at the London Stadium in the latter days of former manager Manuel Pellegrini.
Under new boss David Moyes, though, he has been bizarrely shunted further and further away from the starting XI.
On Monday, however, he gave a reminder of his immense quality, scoring the Hammers’ second goal in their 3-2 defeat to Liverpool.
Now, Irons correspondent Sam Inkersole has provided an interesting comparison for the Spain international.
“Moyes’ tactics and team selection stunted Fornals somewhat, but now with [Tomas] Soucek’s injury the Spaniard has the chance to re-establish himself in the team,” he wrote on the Football London website.
“It’s a lot like former midfielder Joao Mario’s situation when Moyes was last in charge. The Portuguese started slowly having joined on loan from Inter Milan as well before becoming an integral part of the team alongside Marko Arnautovic as West Ham survived the drop.
“With the bit between his teeth, Fornals could have a massive role to play over the next three weeks in the absence of Soucek. It could also be a catalyst for the remainder of the season as the midfielder goes through his Joao Mario moment.”
For Fornals read Joao Mario?
There are certainly similarities. The Portuguese star was a mid-season arrival on loan from Inter Milan, of course, whereas Fornals has been in east London for the entire campaign.
But it’s similar in the way that Moyes somewhat shunned them both at first, only to then lean on them. That hasn’t happened yet for Fornals, but it just might.
It would be very harsh if he didn’t start against Southampton on Saturday given the impact he made at Anfield.
With Soucek out for a few weeks, the 24-year-old is the obvious candidate to come in and replace him.
In other West Ham news, former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan has bizarrely stuck up for Gold & Sullivan.