How Arne Engels transfer could be the end of Nuno at West Ham after loss vs Southampton

Arne Engels was one of Nuno Espirito Santo's coveted buys at West Ham United in the summer.

The Belgium international started his 11th Championship game of the season against Southampton at the London Stadium.

In the Hammers' 3-2 loss, the 23-year-old ace played the full 90 minutes but couldn't make a positive impact on the result.

James Ward-Prowse, who was technically replaced by Engels at West Ham, had the last laugh over Nuno.

The Portuguese manager refused to rate the Englishman at the London Stadium and gave him barely any minutes.

However, it now looks like the Irons have a younger version of the 31-year-old in the former Celtic ace, which makes little sense.

Why Nuno Espirito Santo should fear after West Ham loss vs Southampton

Nuno is expected to win the Championship title, but losing to teams like Southampton will make that difficult.

The Hammers sit third in the table, three points behind league leaders Middlesbrough.

In the last five Championship games, the Irons have dropped five points.

Nuno's team selection and in-game decisions have frustrated fans since his appointment last season.

The East London club arguably have a strong enough squad to win automatic promotion, but the Portuguese manager is making life a bit difficult.

Ward-Prowse and Engels performed similar roles at almost equal standards as the Saints won in East London, which begs the question of why £22million was spent on the ex-Celtic midfielder.

What does Arne Engels bring to London Stadium?

There's clearly no X factor Engels has brought to West Ham since his signing.

Ward-Prowse was sold for around £1m and is more than capable of doing what Nuno has demanded from the Belgian ace, with set-piece deliveries one of his main duties.

Engles and the veteran Englishman had similar passing accuracy in the game, 86 per cent and 87 per cent, respectively, and both recorded one key pass, as per Sofascore.

The Southampton midfielder covered more distance than the Belgium international and recorded a higher top speed.

Both players played in a similar area of the pitch, with Ward-Prowse making 10 defensive contributions and Engels just two.

Nuno was clearly blinded by his apparent prejudice for the Englishman and decided that spending a significant sum on someone with similar attributes was the right decision.

However, it's evident that the Irons have more pressing issues to fix in their squad and the Portuguese manager's inability to look past whatever issue he had with Ward-Prowse should be a sackable offence.

The East London club have arguably wasted resources on Nuno's whims, and they must part ways with him before it's too late.