Carlos Soler’s popularity in East London, both for his recent performances on the pitch and the way he’s come across off it.
The Spain international joined the Hammers on loan from Paris Saint Germain last summer, and scored his first goal for the club a few weeks ago in West Ham’s 3-2 win over Fulham.
The 28-year-old was struggling for regular game time in the early stages of the season, often coming off the bench late in games.
However, Soler has started three of the four league games Graham Potter has been in charge of and has put in strong performances in each of them. This was epitomised by his terrific run against Chelsea on Monday night, which saw the midfielder glide past Reece James on the sideline and help West Ham get up the pitch.
Soler’s attitude
It’s not only his performances on the pitch that are making West Ham fans start to love the player, though, with Soler’s attitude and personality making him a hit amongst Hammers supporters.
A recent video that emerged on X shows Soler crossing a road in public before getting called out by an apparent West Ham fan, just for the player to respond with the hammers sign with his arms, which has had quite the reception amongst West Ham supporters.
Fornals 2.0 🤞🏾🙏🏾⚒️ pic.twitter.com/I5odD2npp7
— Josiah⚒️⚒️🇧🇧🇧🇧 (@JosiahMoth) February 6, 2025
The caption to the video being ‘Fornals 2.0’ shows the admiration Hammers fans are starting to show for the midfielder, with Soler’s compatriot Pablo Fornals becoming cult hero in East London following a successful few years at the club.
Soler reportedly took the London Underground to Stratford for West Ham’s clash at the London Stadium with Brighton back in December – a game in which the Spaniard was suspended – so that he could embrace the experience as a fan.
‘It was nice, I enjoyed it. It’s not a problem to take photos with fans because when I was in the Valencia academy, I wanted pictures with the first-team players but, in this moment, I preferred not to be recognised so I can go with them and experience matchday like a fan,’ Soler told the Daily Mail.
These recent revelations of the player are beginning to show his passion and love for the club while displaying a sense of humility that West Ham fans are beginning to warm to.
It’s still unclear whether Soler’s loan will be made permanent in the summer. Either way, if he continues as he is he’ll have earned cult hero status alongside Fornals.
