Credit: Imago

Scott Mason

Tue 14 April 2026 16:10, UK

Pablo has taken his time to get off the mark at West Ham United, but he may have done so already without fans realising.

The Brazilian was signed in January with the hopes of his goalscoring traits being able to turn around the Hammers’ season.

So far, only one of those two things has come true. The Irons are finally out of the relegation zone, but that has been without Pablo having a large impact in terms of goals.

The winter signing finally secured his first goal contribution against Wolves, assisting Taty Castellanos at London Stadium.

However, while that was the first sign of Pablo’s direct influence on West Ham’s games, his true impact may be hidden underneath the surface.

Pablo’s ‘game state’ record for West Ham is remarkable

Pablo is not often on the pitch for West Ham when the Irons are losing. In fact, of his 487 minutes played this season, he has only been behind in 94 of those. A total of 19 per cent of the time.

While West Ham have lost three games where he featured, only one of those did he both start and be on the pitch when losing. This was the 2-0 loss to Aston Villa and the 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest.

When the Irons fell to a 3-2 defeat to Chelsea, Pablo exited the pitch before the Stamford Bridge outfit turned things around.

Additionally, when Nottingham Forest scored a late winner at London Stadium, Pablo was brought on as a substitute.

All of this is to point out that with Pablo featuring, the Hammers are more often than not in a much better game state than they have found themselves for much of the season.

While many would say that Pablo’s lack of goals so far is a concern, which is an understandable point, perhaps his influence in terms of pressing and work rate has been understated.

Fans must take notice of his time on the pitch more closely, as the Irons often have a chance for a result when he plays.

West Ham’s points per game when Pablo starts

If Pablo’s influence is not obvious by his record when it comes to game state, then it will become clearer with how many points the Hammers average with Pablo starting.

With the Brazilian starting on the pitch, the Irons have secured 10 out of 18 points, giving him a 1.66 points per game total.

Over the season, the Irons have only averaged one point per game, showcasing a noticeable rise with the 22-year-old.

Pablo is impacting games, even if his influence is not obvious at first. Now, the striker must begin adding goals to this game, as he is struggling in that area.