It went under the radar somewhat when West Ham signed Pablo Fornals early in the summer before the start of the U21 European Championships, but the £24m fee they splashed out looked to be a shrewd move at the time, even if performances so far haven’t been electric.
After he signed, Fornals then went off to perform with his country at youth level, and the way he played was nothing short of incredible. Alongside the likes of Mikel Oyarzabal, Dani Ceballos, Dani Olmo and Fabian Ruiz the West Ham man made things looks easy as he bagged twice on his way to winning the competition.
However, the form he found playing in the famous shirt of La Roja has proved elusive so far in his early days as a West Ham player, whether that’s down to adjusting to the style and culture of English football it cannot be said, but what must be said is that any criticism has come far too early.
The youngster is certainly good enough to be plying his trade in the Premier League, and the sooner that he finds his feet the better for both himself and for the expectant Hammers, but the former Villarreal man simply must be given a fair crack and time to adjust.
So far, Manuel Pellegrini has used his new summer signing in all of his side’s Premier League games, but he’s only started once. The other four games have seen him introduced off the bench, and in such a short space of time he’s been used both wide left and wide right as well as in central midfield.
It doesn’t look like the player or the club have found a system that will work and suit the both of them, but when it does come the results will be devastating. His numbers for Spain prove just that, as he averaged 2.4 shots, 1.8 key passes, 1.2 dribbles and 37 passes at a success rate of 88.1% for Spain’s U21’s this summer, as per WhoScored.
When that comes for the Irons, they will have a real player on their hands, and at the age of just 23-years-old he will almost certainly come good, it’s just about being patient and allowing it to happen alongside the likes of Sebastien Haller and Manuel Lanzini at The London Stadium.
