West Ham United player ratings so far this season: James Ward-Prowse and Jarrod Bowen star while Danny Ings flops
West Ham United couldn’t have wished for a better start to the season as they head into the October international break in good form in all competitions.
David Moyes’ side have won their first two matches in the Europa League, have qualified for the fourth round of the Carabao Cup and currently sit seventh in the Premier League with their only defeats coming against Liverpool and Manchester City.
After a summer that saw fans worried due to a lack of early business, the Hammers have impressed supporters and pundits alike with their early season displays and hopefully, they will continue that excellent form when they return to action following the break.
West Ham Zone has rated the players to have made at least five appearances so far this season out of 10;
Alphonse Areola – 8
In what is the Frenchman’s first season as the Hammers’ Premier League number one, Areola has stepped up to the plate excellently and been one of the league’s best keepers. He may have only kept one clean sheet in the league this season, but he has made an excellent 4.1 saves per match and put in one of the best goalkeeping displays of the campaign in the Irons’ defeat to Manchester City where he made a remarkable 10 saves in the contest [Sofascore].
Emerson – 6
The Italian left-back has made the position his own in the Premier League and has kept Aaron Cresswell out of the Hammers side so far this year. Emerson has won an average of 2.5 tackles a game and is only being dribbled past once every other game. Going forward he has only registered one assist and created two big chances so he would hope to improve his output going forward but has been impressive in the early part of the season.
Kurt Zouma – 7
Having replaced Declan Rice as captain this season the Frenchman has stepped up since taking on the armband and has started every Premier League game this season. Zouma is yet to be dribbled past this season and has won 83 per cent of his attempted tackles. He’s also made a remarkable 52 clearances as well as making 13 interceptions and going forward he has popped up with a goal.
Vladimir Coufal – 7
When you think about West Ham full-backs, you rarely expect them to be rampaging attacking players, but Coufal has been in inspired form so far this season and has four Premier League assists to his name having created 11 chances. Defensively he has been strong winning 73 per cent of his tackles and averaging 4.1 recoveries a game. After a tough campaign last year, the 31-year-old is thriving at right-back this season.
Thilo Kehrer – 5
Kehrer has seen most of his football come in the Europa League so far this season, only making three substitute appearances in the league and he hasn’t looked all that comfortable. His 18 minutes in the league have shown that he has fallen in Moyes’ pecking order while he has failed to pull up trees in the European games. After the surprising links to Bayern Munich in the summer [Daily Mail, 23 August] the German could move away when the January window opens.
Nayef Aguerd – 6
It has been a real mixed bag for Aguerd at the start of the season as before the September international break he was one of Moyes’ most reliable defenders, but in recent weeks his performance levels have dipped somewhat. He struggled in the defeat to Liverpool and drew with Newcastle, but shone once again in Sheffield United. To show why he should be starting week in and week out he has to be more consistent.
James Ward-Prowse – 9
The England international is arguably not only the Hammers best signing this season, but the best addition any Premier League club made over the summer. In seven Premier League starts for the Irons the former Southampton man has five assists and two goals to his name, with a further three assists in the Europa League. His 2.1 key chances per game consistently unlock defences and whatever West Ham achieve across the remainder of the season will likely be down to their new midfield maestro. The decision to leave him out of the England side is ridiculous.
Tomas Soucek – 7
Soucek has rediscovered his goal-scoring touch this season, picking up two Premier League strikes as well as a further goal in the Europa League and his presence from set-pieces are a huge asset to the Hammers. He profiting from the addition of Ward-Prowse and is currently averaging more than 2 shots a game. Defensively he is once again working well, averaging 2.7 ball recoveries a match.
Edson Alvarez – 7
It was always going to be a tough job for whichever player replaced Rice this summer, but Alvarez has done as good a job as possible to fill the void left by the England international. The Mexican midfielder is averaging 3.9 ball recoveries a game and is winning just under 2 tackles every 90 minutes. Despite the good start, it feels like he could still be finding his feet ever so slightly in the English game.
Lucas Paqueta – 8
The more attack-minded of the new-look midfield three at the London Stadium, Paqueta has been one of the Premier League’s leading men in almost all aspects of his game so far this season. Defensively he has won back possession more than any other Premier League player [Squawka] while also creating nine key chances for his teammates. The Hammers are going to have plenty of interest from elsewhere in the Brazilian and must do their best to keep him in the coming seasons.
Pablo Fornals – 4
Having been one of the most important players over the last few seasons at the London Stadium, Fornals has struggled to get up and running in his limited appearances this year. The Spanish midfielder has only started once in the league and has failed to register either a goal or an assist. Possibly his worst performance saw him hooked against TSC Backa Topola in the Europa League after the hour mark after registering an xG of 0.09 from three shots and failing to win a single tackle. With his contract expiring at the end of the campaign it may well be best for him to depart East London.
Said Benrahma – 6
The Algerian winger has been in and out of Moyes’ starting XI so far this season and that has made it difficult to judge his start to the campaign. Benrahma is capable of having an incredibly quiet game and then producing a moment of magic out of the blue. He would have hoped to have more than one assist at this stage of the season, but he rarely produces a terrible display.
Jarrod Bowen – 9
Alongside Ward-Prowse, Bowen has been in some of the best form of his West Ham United career this season. The 26-year-old has scored five goals in eight Premier League matches from an xG of only 3.58 and has ensured that the Hammers haven’t regretted missing out on a striker in the summer transfer window. Moyes hopes to convert the former Hull winger into a striker after he signed a new seven-year contract at the London Stadium in what could be a crucial piece of business for the future.
Mohammed Kudus – 7
Few players arrived at the London Stadium with more excitement than Kudus this summer and while there have been plenty of bright moments, the West Ham faithful are yet to see the best of the Ghanaian international as Moyes slowly bloods his new star. He’s up and running now in the Premier League and Europe and hopefully, after the October international break we will see him kick on from his excellent start.
Michail Antonio – 7
After plenty of speculation that he may have left West Ham this summer, Antonio has once again been the main man in the Hammers frontline, but recently the goals have dried up. The Jamaican international hasn’t scored since August but is integral to how Moyes’ side try to play. He is never going to be the prolific number nine that West Ham need, but he is the best option currently in the ranks at the London Stadium.
Danny Ings – 2
Bearing in mind the lack of striking options in Moyes’ ranks, Ings should be playing week in and week out for the Hammers, but he has yet to start a single league match. In five cameos from the bench, he has managed only 33 minutes and is yet to have a shot. When he did lead the line against TSC in the Europa League he only had one shot with an xG of 0.02. Having been left on the bench for the Irons clash with Freiburg it is clear that he isn’t fancied by Moyes and might be best served to leave if a new striker is bought in January.
In other West Ham news, Moyes is using Arjen Robben and Ribery to try and develop Jarrod Bowen’s game