The last year or so has been pretty depressing for West Ham United, but the squad does have some real talent in it.
Summer signings Mateus Fernandes and Soungoutou Magassa could develop into regular starters; Lucas Paqueta’s quality is undeniable, and El Hadji Malick Diouf looks like one of the best left-backs in the Premier League.
However, the crown jewel in Nuno Espírito Santo’s current side is undoubtedly Jarrod Bowen, who continues to be a difference-maker for the Hammers.
Yet, there is another player in the squad who could, under the new management, develop into a Bowen-style star for West Ham.
Bowen's West Ham rise
When West Ham signed Bowen from Hull City in January 2020, there was some excitement over the move, as there is for most attacking additions, but it didn’t feel like it was going to be a particularly important signing at the time.
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That opinion wasn’t really changed by the end of that season either, as while he didn’t do poorly, a return of one goal and four assists in 13 games wasn’t much to write home about.
Things started to pick up slightly the following season, as the promising winger produced 14 goal involvements in 40 games, but it was over the next two years that he began to establish himself as one of the best in the league.
For example, the 28-year-old ended the 21/22 season with a tally of 31 goal involvements and his first England cap, and then 22/23 delivered his defining moment as a Hammer.
That moment, of course, was the Conference League winning goal against Fiorentina, which not only brought the club their first European trophy but also cemented his legacy as a legend.
Since then, the former Hull gem has continued to perform and, as things stand, has made 246 appearances for the club, totalling 19611 minutes, in which he’s scored 77 goals and provided 52 assists.
That works out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.90 games, or every 152.02 minutes.
Appearances
246
Starts
221
Minutes
19611′
Goals
77
Assists
52
Goal Involvements per Match
0.52
Minutes per Goal Involvement
152.02′
Points per Game
1.45
So, if Nuno can help develop another of West Ham’s attackers into a Bowen-type player this season, the club could end up having a memorable campaign.
The West Ham star who could become a Bowen-type player
Unfortunately, with West Ham’s attack not being particularly threatening at the moment, there is only really one player who could be developed into a Bowen-type star: Crysencio Summerville.
Now, the first thing to say is that no, the former Leeds United star is not as good a player as the Englishman, and is unlikely to become so in the next couple of seasons.
However, that does not mean he cannot become a player in his mould, or in other words, a winger who can provide a genuine threat from out wide, be that through goals, assists or their overall play.
Fortunately, the Dutchman is already starting to show positive signs this season, so getting that bit more out of him, like he did with his wingers at Nottingham Forest, shouldn’t be too much of a challenge for Nuno.
For example, while the 23-year-old was fairly anonymous away to Arsenal last weekend, he was brilliant away to Everton the week before.
In fact, the “unstoppable” Rotterdam-born dynamo, as dubbed by Statman Dave, was so good that he was named the Man of the Match, despite not scoring the equalising goal.
In his 77 minutes of action, he completed three of his five dribbles, more than anyone else on the night, won five of eight ground duels, amassed a combined expected goal and assists figure of 0.67, took 55 touches, played one key pass and won two fouls.
Finally, while the right-footed game-changer hasn’t been much of a goal threat in East London, he has it in his locker, as in his final campaign with Leeds, he racked up a tally of 21 goals and ten assists in 41 games.
Ultimately, Summerville is obviously not as good a player as Bowen and likely won’t be, but with more coaching, he could easily become someone West Ham can rely on in a similar way.
