The Norwegian defensive midfielder could become an integral part of West Ham’s historic first season at the Olympic Stadium. The former Borussia Mönchengladbach player has been described by Arsene Wenger as “A bright prospect who works incredibly hard for the team.” The 2016/2017 Premier league campaign will hopefully bring success for the East London club and the versatile midfielder, who learnt his trade at Norwegian side Haugesund, could well be significant in the club’s league finish.
In the Bundesliga last season, according to ‘Squawka’, Nordveit scored 4 goals, created 9 chances and achieved 1 assist. These statistics are impressive if you consider for large parts of the season he played at centre back, defensive midfield and occasionally right back. Furthermore, the Norwegian international should be able to excite the West Ham fans as in Germany he is regarded according to ‘whoscored.com’ as a “wonderful long range striker with remarkable power.”
When Nordveit was announced as West Ham’s first signing on a free transfer various media outlets in Germany praised the club’s ambition and awareness of Nordveit’s ability. One journalist went as far as saying ‘West Ham have acquired a 15-20 million pound player for free’. These quotes highlight how highly rated he is in Germany and if Arsene Wenger in the past has been rumoured to want to re-sign him, he is clearly a talented footballer.
The competition for places in the starting eleven next season will be fierce, especially in midfield with the likes of Noble, Kouyate, Nordveit and Obiang (assuming he stays) all competing for a position in Slaven Bilic’s team. After Mark Noble and Cheikhou Kouyate impressed in the final season at Upton Park, most fans would assume that Bilic will opt for this midfield pairing to begin with. However, given that Nordveit is held in such high regard, I for one wouldn’t be surprised to see Nordveit starting regularly towards the end of the season. It is difficult at this early stage to predict how Slaven Bilic wants the team to line up but Kouyate is an invaluable part of the team, a player who scores and drives the team on with powerful runs. Whilst Mark Noble was magnificent throughout West Ham’s 2015/2016 campaign, and was definitely deserving of an England call up, if Nordveit plays as well as Borussia Mönchengladbach fans say he can, Noble could be sacrificed.
In summary, West Ham’s transfer business this summer looks extremely promising and dependent on which strikers come and go, Nordveit’s arrival might be overlooked and regarded as less significant. However, given his versatile and hardworking nature, West Ham have secured the signature of a very good player and hopefully the Norwegian will demonstrate his talent in what will undoubtedly be a momentous and celebrated season for the club.
