OPINION
If you’d asked most West Ham United supporters to name one player who wasn’t fit to wear the shirt in mid January, the chances are they would have quickly elected defender Angelo Ogbonna.
It’s a huge credit to the Italy international, then, that he now has people wondering whether Fabian Balbuena should regain his first team spot upon his imminent return from injury.
The former Juventus man has enjoyed a remarkable renaissance at the London Stadium over the past month or so, and his turnaround now appears complete after another dominant display in the Hammers’ 2-0 win over Newcastle United on Saturday.
This is a man who was an accident waiting to happen earlier this season. On Saturday, however, he sailed through one of the toughest assignments in the Premier League by marking Magpies frontman Salomon Rondon out of the game.
The 30-year-old is unrecognisable from the January mess he previously resembled. His partnership with Issa Diop, once a source of major concern for Manuel Pellegrini, now looks virtually impregnable.
What a job he has done recently, it’s been truly sensational to witness. He arrived at the club several years ago with a big reputation after a stellar stint in his homeland, however, it only now feels as if we are seeing the best of the mercurial Italian.
Again, it’s difficult to overstate just how maligned Ogbonna was until recently. He was a polarising figure in East London, to put it kindly. Now, though, he is regarded as a pillar of Pellegrini’s ever-improving West Ham team.
The veteran centre half should be very proud of himself, because he’s come a long way in a very short space of time. He is now, very much, undroppable for Pellegrini.
