West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo has suffered yet another injury ahead of Friday’s crucial game against promoted side Leeds United, meaning the tactician will once again be forced into the starting eleven.
Nuno slams West Ham’s controversial line-up against Brentford
Nuno faced the ire of critics on Monday after naming a strange starting XI for the match against Brentford.
The Hammers, who suffered their fourth home league defeat of the season (the club’s best record at this stage of the season), deployed Ollie Scurls and Kyle Walker-Peters on opposite flanks, using Tomas Soucek and Andy Irving in midfield ahead of the more dynamic Sungutou Magassa and Freddie Potts.
After Niklas Furkrük’s thigh injury was confirmed by Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann, there was much debate over who would take on the striker role against Brentford.
West Ham’s Premier League results so far |
|---|
Sunderland 3-0 West Ham |
West Ham 1-5 Chelsea |
Nottingham Forest 0-3 West Ham |
West Ham 0-3 Tottenham |
West Ham 1-2 Crystal Palace |
Everton 1-1 West Ham |
Arsenal 2-0 West Ham |
West Ham 0-2 Brentford |
Despite expectations that Nuno could hand Callum Marshall his first Premier League start against Brentford or play Jarrod Bowen in that role, as the England international has done in the past, the West Ham manager instead selected Lucas Paqueta as a temporary number nine.
The Brazil international was often sloppy in possession and isolated, and his experiments ultimately didn’t pay off.
West Ham legend Tony Cottee slammed Nuno for his “terrible” team selection after the club’s 2-0 defeat, but the former Nottingham Forest boss defended his choices.
“I think it went well. The idea for this match was that we had to work together compactly, whether it was Andy or another player,” Nuno said.
“I think we need to train and achieve so that every player has the opportunity to show himself, in order to find better solutions.
“We made changes because things stopped working at half-time and we looked for different situations to be more solid and more compact at the back (and) to not allow too many chances so we could bounce back from the result.”
According to Nuno himself, defender Konstantinos Mavropanos will join Furkrug and George Arcee on the treatment table, meaning Nuno will have to tinker with his squad again.
West Ham deal injury blow to Mavropanos, Igor Julio recalled
Speaking to reporters ahead of West Ham’s trip to Leeds, Nuno confirmed Mavropanos will miss the impending fixture.
The Greek international was forced off against Brentford and although he came on as a substitute, he failed to complete the 90 minutes, meaning Mavropanos will not be included in West Ham’s match-day squad for the trip to Elland Road.
“Yes, he (Mavropanos) is injured, it came off. Now he’s undergoing scans to confirm the real injury,” Nuno said.
“I can’t say exactly how long he will be out. Certainly, unfortunately this game is not an option for us.”
The 27-year-old’s absence means summer signing Igor Julio, who was left out of the squad permanently to play for Brentford, is certain to be recalled.
According to reports, Julio has performed well in training with West Ham and is in contention to join Nuno in the starting XI, with the Hammers having little to lose by giving him the chance.
Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo both really struggled to contain Brentford on an unforgettable night for both, with West Ham also conceding more league goals than any other side in the top flight so far.
The Brazilian, described by the press as a strong one-on-one defender with “excellent” technique, was once called an “animal” by former Seagulls coach Iñigo Calderon.
Julio hasn’t been given a chance to stake his claim to a place in the team this season, playing just one minute in the league so far, but now might be the time for Nuno to look for inspiration from elsewhere.
