Journalist shares Pablo Fornals, Said Benrahma and Danny Ings ‘not good enough verdict’ ahead of West Ham United v Wolves clash
David Moyes has “problems” with his reserves at West Ham United who can no longer be relied on to impact games from the bench, according to Jacob Steinberg.
The Guardian journalist, sharing his preview (15 December) for the Hammers’ Premier League clash against Wolves on Sunday (17 December) believes the likes of Said Benrahma, Pablo Fornals and Danny Ings “have not been good enough” which leaves Moyes with issues should they struggle to beat Gary O’Neil’s men.
West Ham will be looking to bounce back from the 5-0 Fulham defeat (10 December) when they take on O’Neil’s side at the London Stadium and a win could see them level on points with Manchester United in sixth who take on Liverpool later on.
Steinberg, writing for The Guardian (15 December) shares that there is the possibility that Benrahma could be sold in January but Moyes’ bench has become a problem late in games when they’re chasing a win.
He wrote: “Can David Moyes trust his bench? West Ham have a settled starting XI and are comfortable in ninth place despite last weekend’s hammering at Fulham. But their approach can be predictable and Moyes has problems if he wants to shake things up.
“His reserves have not been good enough. Pablo Fornals, the Spanish midfielder, has dipped since the start of last season. West Ham want to sell the winger Saïd Benrahma in January. Danny Ings, a poor signing from Aston Villa, contributes little in attack as a starter or an impact substitute.
“The young striker Divin Mubama has not had many chances. But if West Ham are struggling to pick up a win against Wolves on Sunday, what will Moyes do? He did not make a substitution until the 89th minute during his side’s recent 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace.”
Huge issue
Indeed, Moyes does have a pretty damning issue when it comes to his impact subs as none of the likes of Benrahma, Fornals and Ings have possessed the quality or confidence to make telling contributions even when they do start.
It’s good West Ham United have a settled line up now with Lucas Paqueta, Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus’ Moyes new and improved trusted attacking setup but the mark of a great team is showing by their strength on the bench also.
On paper, Benrahma, Fornals and Ings are tremendous names to have but right now, that couldn’t be further from the truth and there is the telling possibility that all three players can be highly marketable and ultimately sellable assets in the next couple transfer windows.
It’s not only those three, but Maxwel Cornet too who has also become something of an unfortunate forgotten man at the London Stadium.
If West Ham United are to improve on their domestic position from last season but also make more waves on the European front then they will need quality options from the bench, who need to be as good as the players on the pitch.
Whether they can get that much-needed quality between now and the end of January remains incredibly unlikely so it may be up to Moyes to work some magic with what he has. Impossible job.
In other West Ham news, one pundit and former Hammers player shares his reaction as Fabrizio Romano shares a transfer update ahead of the January transfer window.