OPINION
West Ham attacker Robert Snodgrass is slowing becoming the forgotten man at the London Stadium as he continues not to be used very often.
The 32-year-old winger has only played 144 minutes of Premier League action across three appearances this season, and has had to make do with playing in the EFL Cup games instead. (Source: WhoScored)
Although while Snodgrass did play 90 minutes of the 2-0 win over Newport County, he only played 74 minutes of the 4-0 loss to Oxford United which isn’t a surprise if you watched his performance.
The experienced winger failed to make any key passes, was dispossessed twice, and only had a pass completion rate of 60.7% before being subbed. (Source: WhoScored)
Yet despite this terrible performance not aiding his cause for more first-team minutes, he’ll surely be expecting more playing time sooner rather than later based on the club’s reported stance on his future.
Claret & Hugh reported on Wednesday that Snodgrass is set to remain with the Hammers, and not be at risk of a January exit, due to Manuel Pellegrini remaining a fan of the attacker and still seeing him as a key player.
The reliable Hammers website even quoted a senior insider who stated that Snodgrass “could be here for a long while.”
It’s very easy to believe West Ham are planning to hold on to Snodgrass after all he did pen a new contract in July that is set to keep him at the London Stadium until 2021. (Source: Transfermarkt)
However, while the plan may be to keep him, the Hammers attacker will surely be expecting more minutes if he is to stick around for a long while, as a player of his calibre won’t be satisfied just playing minutes here and there.
This is especially the case when you consider Snodgrass will need to keep impressing for West Ham in order to keep earning caps for Scotland, as it’s not like he can show what he is capable of in the shadows of the London Stadium.
It’s also worth noting that Snodgrass was so eager to play regularly previously, when not being in the Hammers’ first-team plans, that he dropped down to play in the Championship with Aston Villa by joining them on loan.
So with that in mind, you have to believe the veteran winger will be expecting a nice boost to his playing time if the club are serious about him staying put.
