West Ham United may have to turn to forgotten man if Lucas Paqueta and Emerson get suspended
West Ham may be forced to turn to forgotten man Maxwel Cornet in their Europa League quarter-final second leg if both Lucas Paqueta and Emerson get booked in the first leg.
Lucas Paqueta and Emerson have both picked up two yellow cards in the competition so far and a third would see them handed a one-match ban.
However, an injury to star forward Jarrod Bowen has already left the Hammers light on options in attack – the Englishman was forced off early in the second half of their 2-1 win over Wolves and was replaced by left-back Aaron Cresswell, with Emerson pushed forward into a left-wing berth.
Further absentees could force head coach David Moyes to turn to a fringe member of the squad – Cornet.
Could Maxwel Cornet step up for West Ham?
Cornet is arguably the most natural option out wide beyond the regular trio of Paqueta, Bowen or Mohammed Kudus.
The departures of Said Benrahma and Pablo Fornals in January have depleted Moyes’ options behind the centre-forward to such an extent that Emerson was required as an auxiliary winger against Wolves – though the Brazilian did impress in that position and arguably produced a stronger display further forward than he did at full-back, seeing a goal harshly disallowed and winning a penalty.
Should Emerson and Paqueta both pick up yellow cards in the first leg against Bayer Leverkusen, Moyes would be without both and Bowen – barring a miraculous recovery – for the second leg.
If Cornet must be called upon, it would represent just his fourth start of the campaign across all competitions – his previous three were the 2-2 draw with Sheffield United in the Premier League, the 1-0 defeat against Bristol City in the FA Cup and the 1-0 win over Lincoln City in the League Cup. In fact, the Frenchman has featured for a total of just 326 minutes this term – a clear sign that he is not trusted by Moyes.
He has produced one goal – against the Blades – and one assist, against Backa Topola in the Europa League in that time. That is not a terrible return given his limited minutes, but the sample size is far too small to draw any conclusions from.
It would certainly take a level of performance that has not yet been seen from Cornet if he is to contribute positively to what could be West Ham’s biggest game of the season. Ideally, he will not need to.
In other West Ham news, Besiktas are keen on signing a Hammers defender this summer.
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