West Ham concerns about Jack Grealish come back to bite them in 1-1 draw with Everton
West Ham had the chance to sign Jack Grealish over the summer.
West Ham rivalled Everton for Grealish’s signature, but the winger ultimately joined David Moyes’ side on loan from Manchester City.
The Hammers have struggled in attack so far this season, but Jarrod Bowen came up with the goods for West Ham in the 1-1 draw with Everton on 29 September.
The hosts caused plenty of threats down the left-hand side, with Grealish causing problems for Konstantinos Mavropanos and Kyle Walker-Peters at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
West Ham turned down Jack Grealish in the summer due to lack of work rate
The Hammers only have Niclas Fullkrug and Callum Wilson as their main number nines.
Fullkrug didn’t impress against Everton and may lose his place in the team in the coming weeks should he continue to struggle in front of goal.
Grealish would have helped alleviate West Ham’s worries in front of goal over the summer, should the Hammers have elected to sign him.
- Grealish completed four key passes against West Ham, according to SofaScore, which moved him onto 19 for the season
- The former Aston Villa star surpassed Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes’ 16 Premier League key passes
However, according to Claret and Hugh, the Hammers hierarchy were concerned about signing the winger over his work rate and pulled the plug on a potential deal.
- Grealish has four assists this season and won the Premier League Player of the Month for August
- He had 62 touches against the Hammers and completed 87% of his passes
Senior figures reportedly said he wasn’t the player he was two to three years ago and elected to look elsewhere for new incomings for Graham Potter.
Crycensio Summerville and Bowen have been tasked with being the main playmakers on the wing this season, but should they pick up injuries, there is no one to replace them.
Nuno Espirito Santo faces dilemma up front
After David Sullivan guided the Hammers to a failure of a summer transfer window, worries are already emerging for Nuno Espirito Santo.
Up front, West Ham are left with two ageing strikers who have struggled to show their qualities at the London Stadium since arriving.
- Fullkrug picked up an injury on international duty with Germany
- Wilson was known for missing large portions of the season through injury with Newcastle
- The pair are 32 years old and 33 years old respectively
Wilson and Fullkrug are both injury-prone, and should they continue to be a concern, Nuno could be left without an out-and-out striker.
With the January transfer window in his thoughts, the Irons will surely sign a striker and solve their crisis.
Either way, Monday proved they were worryingly wrong over Grealish.
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