EXTRA TIME

WHU v CFC 3-1, now Brighton away

Last weekend West Ham defeated big spending Chelsea 3-1 at London Stadium courtesy to goals from Aguerd, Antonio and Paquetá (penalty). The first two of these goals were assisted by a man who is dubbed one of the “signings of the summer” by former Aston Villa pundit Gabby Agbonlahor (below).

James Ward-Prowse who was signed from relegated Southampton is well known for his deliverance from corners and free-kicks and in JWP’s very first game West Ham’s second corner found its way exactly on to the head of Nayev Aguerd and into the back of the net. Michail Antonio’s second half goal which restored the Hammers’ lead was also assisted with a fine pass from the middle of the pitch delivered by West Ham’s new midfielder.

Therefore it’s no surprise that talkSport pundit Agbonlahor’s verdict called the former Saints man “one of the signings of the summer”:

Going value for money, “I think he will be one of the signings of the summer,” Agbonlahor said.

“(At) £30/35m it’s a third of what Declan Rice cost Arsenal. Two assists in his first game against Chelsea, ran the midfield and West Ham have got a big side you know, players that can really score goals (from set pieces). Ward-Prowse is going to be great for them with his set pieces and he ran that midfield against £100m Enzo Fernandez.”

Not only JWP had an impressive debut against Chelsea, also Mexican Edson Álvarez, who was signed from Ajax, looks a very good signing, but West Ham manager David Moyes is looking to add more quality before the transfer window closes.

After the arrival of Greek defender Konstantinos Mavropanos last week West Ham now is said to be closing in on another Ajax player, exciting Ghana attacking midfielder Mohammed Kudus, and the Hammers are hoping to sign some more players until the window closes on Friday night.

But before that, this weekend West Ham have to play a team that has been a bit of a bugbear since their promotion to the Premier League in 2017: in twelve matches West Ham have been unable to beat Brighton & Hove Albion which the Hammers have to play in an away game on Saturday evening.

Having lost to them 0-4 back in April, David Moyes said that this time “we go there in good spirits”, albeit admitting that the Seagulls “have won their first two matches by three goals or four goals in each game” and are in really good shape under their Italian manager Roberto de Zerbi.

I won’t be able to watch the game on TV as we are attending a performance at the Salzburg Festival, “Les Troyens” by Hector Berlioz, at the same time, but here’s hoping that looking on my iPhone during a break of the performance will show a good result for the Hammers.

Come on you Irons!

August 26, 2023 at 7:21 am Leave a comment