West Ham United have come out swinging in defence of Pablo Felipe following Sunday’s FA Cup misery and that missed penalty.
The big-money January signing hasn’t scored yet in the Premier League. In fact, across ten appearances, he is yet to hit the net in league and cup.
Though it wouldn’t have counted as an official first goal in a West Ham United shirt, a successful penalty conversion against Leeds will have done Pablo Felipe’s confidence the world of good.
What advice would you give to profligate Pablo? ⛔
How can he save his West Ham career?
West Ham United's Pablo after missing the crucial penalty during the Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final match between West Ham United and Leeds United on April 5, 2026 in London, England.
Lucas Perri guessed right, Pablo’s spot-kick lacked conviction, and the Hammers’ 20-year wait for a spot in the FA Cup semi-finals drags on.
But though the timing of such a piece may raise suspicions – a bit of Pablo-themed propaganda, some will argue – a detailed dive into the striker’s statistics via the club’s official website does throw up some interesting data.
Pablo Felipe has brought a lot to West Ham United
Pablo, Analytics United explain, ranks as the best in the whole of the Premier League in one statistic. Ok, not the most exciting statistic from a fan-perspective, but a useful one nonetheless.
Pablo, the stats show, is the Premier League’s best centre-forward when it comes to ‘successful defensive actions’ with 6.26 per game. That is double the number of the second best, and another player West Ham looked at ahead of the January window.
Pablo Felipe looks dejected during West Ham United vs Leeds.
Photo by Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images
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Wolves wanted far too much for Jorgen Strand Larsen. He, at least, has recorded three goals in six Premier League starts since that mega-money move to Crystal Palace.
Analytics United add that Pablo also matches Manchester City’s Omar Marmoush when it comes to creating shooting chances for his teammates. He also ranks highly for ‘completed dribbles’, ‘aerial duels’ and ‘short pass accuracy’.
Captain Jarrod Bowen spoke glowingly about Pablo’s impact shortly after his arrival. While he has his faults, a pretty glaring one at that, Pablo does bring the kind of energy and intensity Nuno’s frontline was crying out for when Niclas Fullkrug was lumbering around up top.
Nuno Espirito Santo must get Pablo in better shooting positions
There is, of course, one thing missing. One quite important thing when talking about centre-forwards.
Though, as his spell at Gil Vicente demonstrates, West Ham’s goal-shy number 19 can be a very lethal finisher when chances present themselves. Pablo’s conversion rate was up there with Erling Haaland’s and Harry Kane’s when scoring ten goals in 12 Primeira Liga starts.
Nuno’s squad is certainly STRONGER three months on! ⚒️ 🆚 🐺
Who has been the biggest upgrade? Disasi for Kilman surely…
West Ham v Wolves XI on January 3rd, 2006
It’s just that, since moving to England, opportunities to show off his shooting boots have been few and far between. Pablo averages 0.9 shots per game in the Premier League, compared to 1.8 in Portugal.
There are, of course, various factors at play here. The relative weakness of the Portuguese division, for one. Viktor Gyokeres and Darwin Nunez scored at a prolific rate in Iberia too.
On the other hand, Nuno Espirito Santo has barely given Pablo a chance in his favoured number nine role. He has featured more regularly as a number ten and even as a left-sided winger than he has up top in the Premier League.
On paper, Pablo is an elite presser, an excellent teammate, strong in the air, a decent ball-carrier, and a very good finisher. On the pitch, West Ham haven’t seen enough of that final attribute in particular.
Wolves at home on Friday night would be a pretty good time to put that right.
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