How Nuno Espirito Santo could finally replace Pablo Fornals at West Ham amid Reo Hatate latest

Reo Hatate could be West Ham's next Pablo Fornals.

The Spaniard is a cult hero at London Stadium, having been a key part of the Hammers squad that lifted the UEFA Conference League.

Fornals left the Premier League back in 2024, where he then signed for La Liga side Real Betis.

Fornals' work rate and desire could never have been questioned in East London, but his form had dropped in the months prior to his exit.

Replacing a player who had as much impact as the now 30-year-old was never going to be an easy task.

But the Hammers could find themselves with an eerily similar like for like player two years on.

Why Reo Hatate can be the next Pablo Fornals

Nuno Espirito Santo will not be pleased with the slow transfer business at West Ham so far, especially with the first competitive game of the season around the corner.

Other than Crysencio Summerville and Mateus Fernandes, the Irons have done well to keep most of their squad though

None the less, signings will be required and Celtic's Hatate is among the contenders.

West Ham Zone has already looked at how Hatate compares to former midfielder Lucas Paqueta, but the comparisons to Fornals may be easier to see.

According to Data.MB's radar plotting tool, one of the closest players to Hatate last season was actually the Spaniard.

As shown by the radar, the pair profile remarkably similar in a number of areas.

When it comes to their best traits, they both statistically place high in key passes and forward passes.

West Ham target Hatate is in the 95.2 percentile for key passes, an area where he does come out on top above Fornals.

But, Fornals does beat him out in progressive passing with his 95.8 percentile compared to the Japanese midfielder's 76.2.

What Hatate brings that Fornals never originally had

When Fornals arrived in England, he did not bring many past successes with him.

In fact, to this day, that 2022-2023 Conference League win remains his only senior trophy.

But with Hatate, he would bring a bigger mentality due to this success out in Scotland and Japan.

The midfielder has won seven league titles through his career (five in Scotland, two in Japan) and is a born winner.

As the Hammers look to get promoted to the Premier League once more, that winning mentality is a trait much needed this season.