Pablo Fornals shares David Moyes comment that made West Ham United exit clear
Pablo Fornals has admitted a move away from West Ham United suited him and his family after David Moyes told him he could leave due to a lack of game time.
The Spaniard departed the London Stadium in the January transfer window on a permanent basis after four years.
Fornals had played just over 400 minutes in half a season in the Premier League following the signing of Mohammed Kudus.
In an interview published by Spanish outlet Estadio Deportivo [9 May], the versatile midfielder made an admission about the end of his Hammers career.
He said: “The situation was favourable for me because my contract was ending and the cycle, mentally, for me and my family had already ended in London. If it wasn’t at Christmas, it would have been in the summer.
“I wasn’t the typical footballer they wanted to get rid of, but David told me he couldn’t give me the minutes I was asking for.”
Should West Ham have kept Pablo Fornals?
Fornals certainly had some dry spells in his time with West Ham but became a cult hero in that time no doubt as he played a role in the Europa Conference League win.
Across his 15 Premier League appearances this season, he failed to score a goal or register an assist but he didn’t play many minutes.
His fortunes have changed slightly in Spain as he has now scored two goals and put up two assists for his Real Betis teammates.
It must be said that the Hammers have had an overall positive season in the Premier League and Europa League, even if results in 2024 have skewed that perspective.
With Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta and Kudus flying at various points for Moyes this season, it is safe to say that Fornals’ game time would have been limited.
He could have been a useful addition to the squad, but given he wanted to grab some first-team minutes the move away made sense for all parties.
In other West Ham news, the club want to sign a Belgium international midfielder with his current team “aiming for a jackpot”.
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