West Ham United manager Manuel Pellegrini has sounded an ominous warning to captain Mark Noble.
The Chilean has made no secret of the fact Noble’s influence in the West Ham dressing room is vital.
Indeed the club recently extended the homegrown skipper’s contract to 2021.
Noble is adored by Hammers fans even if he is perhaps underappreciated by a small minority.
Over the course of any given season Noble is invariably West Ham’s most consistent player.
The midfielder does occasionally stray from his high standards, though.
Mr consistent Hammered when he blows cold
And when he does it tends to undo all the good work that has gone before it in the eyes of those who feel Noble is somehow holding the team back.
Noble – like most of his teammates – was extremely poor in the recent 2-0 defeat at Burnley.
Pellegrini blamed fatigue for the defeat (Sky Sports) and duly rested Noble in subsequent matches.
He bounced back with a good performance in victory over Arsenal last time out but looked leggy in the second half.
Now the club looks set to sell classy Pedro Obiang to Fiorentina for £10million (Sky Sports).
But Noble’s place in the West Ham starting XI is far from guaranteed.
That’s if Pellegrini’s latest comments on new signing Samir Nasri are anything to go by.
Widespread surprise at new boy Nasri
There has been widespread surprise at just how easy former Manchester City and Arsenal star Nasri has re-adapted to top level football after 18 months out of the game.
He was named man of the match on his debut in a 2-0 FA Cup win over Birmingham.
Nasri then started the 1-0 win over Arsenal, showing his class all over the pitch. That was before expertly setting up the only goal of the game for Declan Rice.
Now Pellegrini has warned that Nasri will only get better and he may opt to play him in Noble’s position as the season progresses.
“Samir is a top player and as he gets more minutes and gets more fitness, he will make the difference, as he always did for Arsenal and Manchester City,” the Chilean told whufc.com.
Pellegrini ready to use Nasri in Noble’s position
“For us, in that (number 10) position it was very important to have those kind of players because the other three, (Jack) Wilshere, (Manuel) Lanzini and (Andriy) Yarmolenko are injured, so Samir is improving and I am sure, because I trust a lot in his game, that he will continue to do so in the future.
“He was behind the striker and I don’t think he is able at this moment to play on the wing or as a holding midfielder but in two or three games more I think he will be able to play in any of those positions.
“He can play on the right wing, he can play on the left wing or he can play in the position I play Mark Noble. He doesn’t have any problems as he’s a football player.”
One thing is for sure Noble will be unperturbed by Pellegrini’s comments.
He knows he is going to end his career at West Ham. And as a fan first he is just desperate to see the club do well.
Noble is Mr West Ham. He gets the club and will pass on the baton to Rice in the coming seasons.
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