OPINION
West Ham United midfielder Pedro Obiang produced his worst performance of the season on Saturday as the team just about managed to salvage a 1-1 draw at Huddersfield Town.
The Spaniard, on a reported £55,000-per-week at the London Stadium [Source: Spotrac], couldn’t get anything going against the Terriers in a shambolic showing.
He was eventually hauled off by manager Manuel Pellegrini midway through the second half, but not before demonstrating that this particular game was far beyond him.
The 26-year-old has actually made a decent start to the campaign, but he was well off the pace at the John Smiths’ Stadium. He never got close to Aaron Mooy who ran the game for the hosts, while his passing when he did get the ball was woeful.
He wasn’t the only player to struggle for the visitors, Declan Rice and Robert Snodgrass were both unusually poor, but his shortcomings were the most glaringly obvious on Saturday.
Mark Noble will return from suspension after the international break in a boost to the Hammers midfield, but Obiang’s Huddersfield horror show has underlined that Pellegrini needs to bring in central midfield reinforcements in January.
With Jack Wilshere and Carlos Sanchez both out injured West Ham are short on both quality and quantity in the middle of the park.
Sanchez is a long term absentee, but Pellegrini told Football London that Wilshere would be available in the second week after the international break.
However, the former Arsenal man’s form prior to his injury showed that he wasn’t the answer for the club. It’s vital that the Hammers pursue central midfield targets in the winter transfer window.
If it wasn’t clear to Pellegrini that the team needed central midfield help before Obiang’s dreadful performance on Saturday, it’s certainly obvious to the Chilean now.
