Lost amid all the chaos of West Ham’s loss at Chelsea was Adama Traore’s debut for the club.
Traore had long been linked with a move to West Ham United, pretty much since the moment Nuno Espirito Santo – who coached him at Wolves – was appointed as Hammers boss back in September.
Indeed, Nuno has big plans for Traore at West Ham, and is believed to see him as someone who can drag his team up the pitch when they are under pressure.
Who is to blame for this? 😡
And, more importantly, what can be done to fix it?!
A graphic showing West Ham's dismal record of dropping 18 points from winning positions this season.
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That wasn’t at all evident during West Ham’s 3-2 defeat at Chelsea, although the fact that the Spaniard only came on in the 81st minute does need to be taken into account.
There was a flashpoint, however. Traore clashed with Marc Cucurella in stoppage time, which led to Jean-Clair Todibo’s red card.
Joao Pedro had shoved Traore and Todibo took issue with that, running over to the Chelsea forward and appearing to put his hands around his neck. As such, he was dismissed for violent conduct.
After the game, Traore sent a message to the club’s supporters.
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Clearly, the small number of minutes the 30-year-old actually got on the pitch do not provide enough of a sample size from which to draw any definitive conclusions.
Saturday’s trip to Burnley will likely do that, should Nuno turn to his new signing earlier than he did in west London.
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It felt like it was coming….
Going defensive too early cost us! 😡
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It was not the dream debut Traore was hoping for and that was reflected as much in his Instagram statement after the game.
He wrote: “Disappointed with the result, but grateful for the debut and my first minutes with @westham. Looking forward to the next match and getting three points.
Never give up.”
Adana Traore dribbles the ball during West Ham vs Chelsea.
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Adama Traore’s debut for West Ham in numbers
Again, the fact that Chelsea turned the game around against West Ham long before Traore had entered the pitch is worth remembering.
To suggest his introduction to the pitch had anything to do with the result would be hyperbolic.
His nine minutes on the pitch yielded five touches, one of two ground duels won and one accurate pass from two attempts, as well as one successful dribble.
West Ham fans feel positive about signing Traore and it will be interesting to see what he can do when afforded more of a chance by Nuno.
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