OPINION
West Ham United clearly worked hard to make sure they have excellent squad depth for this season.
The only area they failed to strengthen in massively was defensive midfield, with Pedro Obiang not being replaced after securing a move to Sassuolo.
Manuel Pellegrini has been tested early on this season in regards to his strength in depth, with an injury to Mark Noble meaning that Carlos Sanchez is his only defensive back-up in midfield.
Speaking in an interview on West Ham’s official club website, Pellegrini revealed how he expects experienced players such as Sanchez and Andriy Yarmolenko to be important options for the Hammers this season.
“They are two important players,” he said.
“Carlos is the only replacement we have for Declan Rice and he is working very hard to recover his performances that he had before his injury. Andriy was nine or ten months without playing one game, so maybe we need some time to fix all the players in their current positions.”
Pellegrini must be having a laugh, and covering the fact that he wasn’t given sufficient funds to further strengthen his squad after big-money moves for both Sebastien Haller and Pablo Fornals.
With many players ahead of the experienced duo in the pecking order at the London Stadium, it is hard to imagine a season where they both play important roles on the pitch.
Colombian international, Sanchez, has not had the desired effect at the London Stadium since arriving, having missed 34 games last season due to knee surgery [Transfermarkt].
The 33-year-old came on for the final seven minutes against Brighton and failed to make any sort of impact, failing with 50% of his attempted passes [WhoScored].
Yarmolenko also suffered from serious injury problems last season and missed 32 games [Transfermarkt] – something Pellegrini must consider before claiming the duo are set to be important in this campaign.
The Ukrainian has also featured off the bench at the beginning of this season, but has failed to register a single shot, key pass, or managed to complete a single dribble according to WhoScored.
With new signings having arrived, both Yarmolenko and Sanchez will only be used in small measures of if they are the final option, and Pellegrini must be having a laugh if he seriously believes the duo will make a big impact at the London Stadium.
