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Inkersole: Fornals has the ‘X factor’

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West Ham United midfielder Pablo Fornals showed that he has the ‘X factor’ in his team’s 2-2 draw with Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, according to Football London journalist Sam Inkersole.

The respected Hammers reporter wrote on the website that the Spanish international gave the club’s supporters a ‘tantalising glimpse’ of his talents at the London Stadium.

Inkersole believes it was Fornals and fellow attacking midfielder Manuel Lanzini who took the game by the scruff of the neck after Manuel Pellegrini’s side fell to a 2-0 deficit against the Basque side.

The former set up the latter’s goal with a bizarre/genius overhead kick assist in the penalty box, and he looked lively throughout as the Hammers finished pre season in typically entertaining fashion.

OPINION

The past couple of weeks have seen the Hammers faithful get a small insight into the wonderful natural ability Fornals will be bringing to east London this season. The summer signing from Villarreal is a highly rated 23-year-old who proved in La Liga and the Europa League that he can carve upon even the most formidable of defences. West Ham started poorly on Saturday but they upped their game on the back of encouraging performances from Messrs Fornals and Lanzini and eventually worked their way back into the game, only to lose on penalties, of course. Fornals would appear to have the ‘X factor’ that Inkersole believes he possesses, but it’s all about producing the goods in the games that count now. He’s a quality operator who should link up superbly with Lanzini and Felipe Anderson, and that combination is what will be getting the Hammers fans really excited heading into the new campaign.

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