Danny Mills has claimed that West Ham United must give the ball to winger Andriy Yarmolenko as much as possible to get the best out of him.
The Sky Sports pundit labelled the Ukrainian a very good player and highlighted his quality on the ball, something he believes the Hammers must utilise this season.
Speaking to Football Insider, Mills insisted that despite lacking in pace, Yarmolenko is still an outstanding player if he plays to his strengths in the Premier League.
“He’s a very good player,” he said.
“Maybe lacks the pace of some but we’ve seen him in Europe for many, many years. Outstanding left foot, great quality on the ball.”
“If Pellegrini’s going to play to strengths, give him the ball, get him on the ball as much as possible. You have to buy players to fit the way you want to play and it looks like that is what Pellegrini has done.”
The 29-year-old endured a nightmare year last season when rupturing his Achilles tendon, but has returned in this campaign and already scored twice.
OPINION
Yarmolenko will have been wanting to hit the ground running after his previous nightmare campaign. His injury forced him to miss the majority of the season, and Manuel Pellegrini will have been wanting him to make a big impact on his return in this campaign. The Ukrainian international has done just that, scoring twice in his five appearances, both in 2-0 victories at the London Stadium in games against Norwich City and Manchester United. Playing on the right-hand side, Yarmolenko is given the license to roam in the final third which can cause opposition defences headaches as they try to track his runs. That was evident against Manchester United on Sunday, as he drifted behind the defence and steered the ball beautifully into the bottom corner. The 29-year-old has averaged 1.8 shots per game so far according to WhoScored, as he continues to be a threat in every game he plays in front of goal. Mills is clearly looking to see the Hammers use his finishing capabilities more in games as the season goes on, and if he can stay fully fit, he could repay Pellegrini with a good number of goals.
