The January transfer window caused considerable eyebrow raining amongst Hammers fans as not one, but two frontmen arrived in the first few days of the new year: Pablo Felipe first and then hot one his heels a second striker, Taty Castellanos landing at London Stadium.
Their impact was immediate, Nuno’s style switching to two up front to accommodate the duo as the Hammers’ fast-paced pressing game seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
Pablo’s injury, whilst not as bad as first feared, has put West Ham’s high energy routine ‘on hold’ until the Portuguese frontman reappears hopefully in the coming weeks.
How much worse it could have been has been revealed. The Hammers had a done deal in December lined up and ready to go for Crystal Palace’s Eddie Nketiah. £27 million was the price, only for the young forward to break down in training with a hamstring injury days before the deal was due to be ratified.
Eddie Nketiah – the one that got away: Fortunately for West Ham
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He’s not played since: West Ham pivoted to Castellanos and Felipe instead.
Nketiah’s misfortune is West Ham’s good luck – had they have signed him instead, the club would still be without a frontman, as revealed by Palace Manager Oliver Glasner yesterday, according to wearepalace.uk:
Speaking in his press conference ahead of the second leg of the UEFA Conference League play-off against Zrinjski Mostar on Thursday, the Austrian revealed that the Crystal PalaceNo.9 is now expected to return in April having suffered yet another setback.
Glasner said: “Eddie had a setback and it will take him now a few more weeks. We are now at the end of February. We expect him back in training. I think it will be the end of March, but because we don’t have games, it looks like it will be April.”
Just for once, fortune has not been hiding for the Hammers who will hope to get Pablo back in action well before Nketiah dusts off his boots. Palace must now be planning for the possibility that he doesn’t make it back into competitive football this season.
We wish him well but can’t help feeling relieved that fate conspired to push West Ham towards Castellanos and Pablo instead.