There is plenty of doom and gloom to go around at West Ham United at the moment.
Understandably so, though, as Nuno Espírito Santo’s side were diabolically poor at home to Brentford on Monday night and are currently 19th in the Premier League.
However, all hope is not yet lost, as it is still early in the season, and while the performances have been poor, there are still some talented players in this squad, such as Jarrod Bowen and the exciting Crysencio Summerville.
Yet, to get the most out of the team and the Flying Dutchman, Nuno needs to make some quick changes.
Changes Nuno needs to make
Unfortunately, there is quite a lot that needs to be done to make West Ham a seriously dangerous team again, but there are a few ways in which Nuno could stop the rot.
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One of the big ones is to reintroduce some pace and power back into the midfield, as it was practically non-existent against Brentford.
The best way to do this would be to bring Soungoutou Magassa back into the starting lineup, as while he is still quite raw, he is, in the words of respected analyst Ben Mattinson, blessed with “pure athleticism.”
Moreover, he’d be able to better cover the backline, as, according to FBref, he ranks in the top 2% of midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues for blocks, the top 3% for tackles plus interceptions and the top 4% for recoveries, all per 90.
Another seemingly obvious action the manager could take for the Leeds game is to play Callum Wilson up top.
Yes, the former Newcastle United star is not the player he once was, nor a long-term solution, but he is an out-and-out number nine who would add a real focal point to the team.
Furthermore, he has already scored a goal for the club this season, and Lucas Paqueta looked utterly lost in the game on Monday.
With all that said, there is another change Nuno should be making for the game on Friday, one that could help get even more out of the dynamic Summerville.
The West Ham star who could supercharge Summerville
While the change up top and in the midfield should help Summerville in the game against his former side, unleashing El Hadji Malick Diouf at left-back would be far more consequential.
The former Slavia Prague gem was on the bench for the game against Brentford, and while the defensive side of his game certainly needs some work, the team missed his attacking qualities.
These qualities were last on show in the draw away to Everton, when he was hurtling up and down the touchline, sometimes beating his opposite number and often firing in brilliant crosses into the penalty area.
In fact, while he didn’t pick up an assist on Merseyside, it was a ball from him that led to Bowen’s equalising strike.
Fortunately, the 20-year-old monster is already doing rather well on the assists front this season, already providing three in eight league appearances, which lends some credence to Sky Sports’ Joe Thomlinson’s claim that he has been “one of the finds of the season.”
With that said, why would he be able to get more out of Summerville, then?
Well, one of the most important ways would be through the space he’d create.
For example, because he possesses such “explosive acceleration,” according to one analyst, opposition defenders wouldn’t be able to leave him alone and could end up being dragged all over the pitch.
Moreover, should the Dutchman run into the penalty area, he can rely on the Senegalese international to find him with a pinpoint accurate cross.
Ultimately, bringing Diouf back into the team would improve West Ham’s overall attack, but it could have an even greater impact on Summerville.