Much is made about Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta at West Ham United, and rightly so, but there is another player at London Stadium who needs to be shown more respect and given more credit.
Bowen has been West Ham’s best player this season and is one of the first names on manager Julen Lopetegui’s teamsheet.
On his day, Lucas Paqueta is one of the best attacking players in the Premier League and was strongly linked with Manchester City not so long ago.
However, there is another West Ham player who needs to be recognised, and that is Lukasz Fabianski. Against Bournemouth this week, the 39-year-old goalkeeper showed once again why he is severely underrated.
Paqueta scored the goal for West Ham in the 1-1 draw at the Vitality Stadium in the Premier League game on Monday evening, but it was Fabianski who made sure that the Hammers picked up a point from the match.
The former Arsenal goalkeeper made a brilliant stop to get down and deny Dango Ouattara in the first half. He also stopped Evanilson and Ryan Christie from scoring for Bournemouth. In total, he made eight saves against Bournemouth.
Fabianski did not have the best of times at Arsenal, but he has shown, first at Swansea City and now at West Ham, that he is one of the best goalkeepers out there in the Premier League.
The Polish star has made 371 appearances in the Premier League so far in his career. He has kept 92 clean sheets and given two assists in those games.
According to The Athletic, Fabianski is out of contract at West Ham at the end of the season. The London club have the option of activating a one-year extension before that deal runs out on June 30. He cost the Hammers £7 million (BBC Sport) in transfer fees when they signed him in June 2018.
West Ham have a hugely experienced goalkeeper who is good with positioning and organising. For Lopetegui, he has been the number one between the posts since the match against Manchester United in October.
There is no question about it. West Ham need to activate their option in Fabianski’s contract and make sure that he is part of the squad next season even though he will be 40 in April.