OPINION
West Ham co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan will surely be keeping a close eye on Andriy Yarmolenko, Jack Wilshere, Winston Reid and Carlos Sanchez this season after all four players had an injury-hit 2018/19 campaign.
Marsh JLT Specialty revealed their Football Injury Index, which analysed how every Premier League side was affected by injuries last season, and it was an alarming read if you are a West Ham fan.
The Hammers were the club most affected by injuries last season as their players sat out a combined total of 2003 days, and it worked out that when you consider the wages of the players that were missing, the London club ended up paying out £22.8million to absent players.
The London Evening Standard’s article on the 2019 Football Injury Index listed Sanchez, Wilshere, Reid and Yarmolenko as being four West Ham players who contributed to this worrying stat from last season.
Given that this report shows how much money Gold and Sullivan wasted on injured players, who couldn’t help Manuel Pellegrini’s side, you feel the businessmen will keep an eye on the quartet mentioned above to see if their injury problems follow them into the current campaign.
After all, if any of these players go through another season where they’re unable to justify their wage by not contributing, then surely the owners will be looking to get them off the wage bill as quickly as possible.
This is especially the case when you consider Andy Carroll spent a lot of his 2018/19 campaign on the sidelines one again, an ankle injury saw him play only 14 games, and the owners didn’t hesitate to watch his contract expire to see him leave the club.
Sanchez, who is 33, didn’t feature against Man City, he was an unused substitute, and when you consider his £50,000-a-week wage, as per Spotrac, as well as his age, and the fact that injury saw him play just eight times last season then he needs to impress in order to stick around this season.
Then there’s Wilshere.
The 27-year-old’s poor injury record was known before the Hammers signed him, but after managing only eight appearances last season, he needs to justify his place at the club, however, given he actually managed 56 minutes against Man City on Saturday, as per Transfermarkt, he may be able to stick around if he plays his cards right.
While Wilshere has hope, Yarmolenko and Reid both didn’t make the squad for the clash with Man City and if that continues to be a pattern, you feel Gold and Sullivan won’t hesitate to try and get rid if possible.
However, it’s fair to say that what this quartet all have in common is that Pellegrini probably isn’t the only one keeping an eye on their performances this seasons based on the latest reported stat.
