Hammers striker Michail Antonio has a very clear message for boss David Moyes about West Ham star Lucas Paqueta.
West Ham have been struggling to score goals this season and are lacking an X factor to their play, especially when they’ve been without new record signing Paqueta.
There has not been much to get excited about for Hammers supporters in the Premier League so far this season after an unforgettable couple of years.
And Moyes is being criticised for his style and approach by many fans and pundits.
Gary Neville effectively told Moyes he must get with the times in his approach and team selection.
Louis Saha feels Moyes does not put enough creative players in the team, saying Said Benrahma was the only one capable of something special at Old Trafford.
Hopes are high that Brazil star Paqueta will return to the West Ham side to face Crystal Palace this weekend after a spell out with a collarbone injury.
And Michail Antonio has a very clear message for boss David Moyes about West Ham star Lucas Paqueta.
There has been a lot of talk Antonio and Gianluca Scamacca should be played in the same team.
But the striker has selflessly insisted that it is more important that Moyes gets Paqueta in the team in his proper position than worrying about playing with two forwards.
“We’ve got so many number 10s so it’s difficult to have two (strikers) because we’ve obviously bought Paqueta in,” Antonio said on Match of the Day 2.
“Once he comes back in, I feel he needs to start and we aren’t going to push him out wide because we brought him in there to create and stuff like that. Going two (up front) then when he is back is going to be difficult.
“The only time we could really do it is around now when he is not available but the teams we are playing against, maybe it is just not something the gaffer is really thinking about right now. It’s something we could do in the future.”
Let’s hope Moyes heeds Antonio’s words.
Some fans have already remarked how Paqueta has been made to do too much defensive work in games with the way Moyes sets up.
Many feel the more creative types, like Benrahma, have their wings clipped working under Moyes.
That simply cannot be allowed to happen with Paqueta. And it sounds like Antonio is letting his manager know that in no uncertain terms.