West Ham ace has completely saved Nuno Espirito Santo’s job – it’s not Crysencio Summerville
Nuno Espirito Santo has overseen a remarkable turnaround at West Ham United.
Nuno was under immense pressure after a 2-1 loss to Nottingham Forest at the London Stadium on 6 January.
However, the Hammers have won three of their last four matches, and they currently sit just three points behind 17th-placed Nottingham Forest.
Crysencio Summerville has been phenomenal for West Ham, and his goal in the 2-0 win over Burnley on Saturday was the fifth consecutive game in which he has found the back of the net.
However, he’s not the only player to have stepped up in the last month.
Taty Castellanos has been a brilliant addition for West Ham
Sullivan invested heavily in attacking reinforcements, and around £25.3million was spent to sign Argentinian striker Taty Castellanos from Lazio.
He arrived in the early stages of the winter window, and very few fans believed that he could have such a big impact on the team.
Fellow new signing Pablo currently operates just behind Castellanos, but in possession, the Hammers attack in a 4-2-4 formation.
While the Portuguese star hasn’t been incredible, Castellanos has changed West Ham’s fortunes.
| Stat | Castellanos |
| Appearances | 12 |
| Goals | 2 |
| Assists | 3 |
Despite arriving from Lazio with an uninspiring record in front of goal, it’s his movement off the ball that has allowed the likes of Summerville and Mateus Fernandes to flourish.
After scoring the winner against QPR in the FA Cup third round, he made only his second league start during West Ham’s 2-1 win over Tottenham on 17 January.
It’s certainly not a coincidence that the 27-year-old’s spell in the team has come at the same time as the impressive run of results.
After a tough start to life as the West Ham head coach, the addition of an out-and-out striker has played a huge part in keeping Nuno his job.
Without Castellanos’ influence as a natural number nine, Nuno may have already been sacked, and a huge amount of credit must be given to the Argentinian forward.
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West Ham need much more from Pablo
Castellanos marked his impressive performances with his first Premier League goal against Burnley.
However, the same can’t be said for Pablo.
The 22-year-old arrived in E20 off the back of a brilliant start to the season with Portuguese side Gil Vicente, although he has found it much harder to adapt to the English top flight.
Pablo was poor in the win over Sunderland, and although his presence in the team is helping the Hammers, it hasn’t quite come off for him yet.
He was dropped for Callum Wilson against Burnley, and it’s a sign that Nuno clearly expects more.
If he fails to make an impact against Man United on Tuesday, then the FA Cup fourth-round tie away to Burton on 14 February will provide him with a great chance to get his first goal for the Hammers.