West Ham United’s signing of Pablo Fornals has ruffled a few feathers at Tottenham Hotspur it seems.
West Ham made the 23-year-old Spain international their second most expensive signing of all time a week ago.
The signing grabbed the attention of rivals fans and pundits.
Spanish football expert Guillem Balague waxed lyrical about the midfielder, describing him as a ‘genius in the pass’ – read full story.
Pundits and rival fans gush over West Ham signing
Balague also admitted his surprise that the likes of Barcelona had not pounced for West Ham’s new boy.
West Ham fans have been excited while Tottenham supporters could not hide their envy on social media.
Fornals grabbed more headlines when he smashed a stunning last gasp winner for Spain Under 21s at the Euro 19 Championships against Belgium earlier this week.
Commentating on the game was former Tottenham player and lifelong fan Terry Gibson.
Former Spurs man green with envy
A knowledgeable pundit, the ex Spurs man has been commentating on La Liga for many years.
And he could not hide his envy as he watched West Ham’s £24m man in action, even comparing him to Tottenham star Dele Alli.
“I think he’s a sensational player, he really is,” Gibson told Sky Sports News Transfer Talk podcast.
“I’m a Spurs fan, and I would have loved Spurs to have signed him, so I’m pretty envious of West Ham getting a really exciting young player.
“He’s an all-round midfield player, he’s versatile, he can play wide, he can play central midfield, but he’s very attacking.
“I would say he would be very similar to someone like Dele Alli or James Maddison who play in that role, where you encourage them to just go and be attack-minded and to be creative, so I think he’s a player that the West Ham supporters will really enjoy watching.”
Closing the gap?
Tottenham already have a fantastic team under Mauricio Pochettino.
But young, talented signings like Fornals will slowly help West Ham close the gap to the likes of Tottenham, who finished 19 points ahead of the Hammers last season.
It took time for the club to find its first under Manuel Pellegrini last season.
Indeed had the Hammers not got off to such a terrible start that 19-point gap could have been a lot more narrow anyway.
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