Pablo Fornals joined West Ham in 2019 for £24 Million, it is safe to say his arrival wasn't greeted with much enthusiasm despite him having helped Spain win the U-21 World Cup. Manuel Pellegrini didn't seem able to work out how to use the energetic midfielder to the maximum of his abilities.
Many fans called for this 'expensive flop' to be moved on, and they nearly got their way! Fast forward a couple of years or so and now Fornals is one of the 1st names on David Moyes's team sheets, rightly so given his 'duracell bunny' performances that he has put in.
Tomas Soucek may cover the most amount of miles on the pitch, but Pablo covers the most amount of smiles! He runs nearly as far as Tomas, but it is his dogged determination that sets him apart. The player has come on leaps and bounds during his time working with David Moyes and his staff, the only issue he had was with his finishing, which was a bit wayward.
Fornals seems to have put all that to bed now, he has already scored twice in this new Barclays Premier League season and scored a corker for Spain last night, it was his first start for the National team and he didn't let them down.
Of course the only negative regarding Fornal's fine performances is that other clubs will come 'sniffing round' and why wouldn't they? Box to box players are at a Premium, especially those with heaps of top class experience, it would take a huge offer to make Moyes sell one of his 'trusted ones', it would be incredibly hard to find a like for like replacement, and even then the price would be so high that there seems little point in countenancing any type of exit for the very likeable Spaniard who has already become a 'Cockney Import'. - Ed
Comments
Agree Nev
He's 1 of the first names on the team sheet,improving all the time
I'm a big fan but I think to
I'm a big fan but I think to some he's Marmit. I hear a lot of criticisms by West Ham fans, which I think are unfair. If you watch him throughout a game his positional awareness, first touch and overlapping runs are right up there with the very best. I think he needs to improve with tackling and interrupting play, a bit more ball winning and the lad is the complete player. I think he will overtake Tomas Soucek in terms of dependency. i thought Soucek and Rice were poor against Palace, at least by their standards.
Always Rated him...
I know YouTube clips aren't always the best indicator of a players abilities, but when we were first linked with Fornals during the Pelle era... I was impressed and convinced with what I had watched. Although he didn't have the greatest of starts with us, I factored Pellegrini into his slow start, as he probably would've struggled to get a tune out of Lionel Messi.
When I was younger my understanding about what made a great player was the amount of step over's a player could do , so I'm glad to say that my understanding about players has come a long way since then and for me Fornal's is a top player that I rate highly.
yes agree
Mr Green st just like you my understanding of a good player has changed over the years and also fornals has changed as he has matured and is still improving week by week he is what a westham supporter appreciates lots of running and plenty of effort certainly not lazy (like a certain Haller) up the Irons
Was delighted when he signed.
Was delighted when he signed. He was clearly one for the future and his performances over the last 2 seasons have warranted the plaudits. Not surprising Pellegrini couldn't find a way to integrate him as he was all about flair and no guile. Fortunately for us Fornals is proving he has both in spades
They say you cant polish a
They say you cant polish a turd, but you can roll it in glitter. Fornals however, was always a diamond in the rough.
Dracular Pellegrini bought him, but didn't have a Jeff about how to use him, or what to do with him. So he became targeted by some fans as another waste of money.
Moyes has polished that diamond now and he is showing everyone his quality. Now Internationally he is making an impact. He plays the game at a rate of knots and with a smile on his boat. Now in front of the fans he can be a real star it seems...