Nuno Espirito Santo now has the luxury of ‘options’ at West Ham United. Which ones he selects, during Saturday’s make-or-break trip to Premier League rivals Burnley, one can only guess at this stage.
There is an argument to suggest Callum Wilson should return to the Hammers’ XI. The veteran poacher may lack the intensity and off-the-ball tenacity of Pablo or Taty Castellanos, but he remains the most reliable finisher at Nuno Espirito Santo’s disposal.
Nuno selected El Hadji Malick Diouf over Ollie Scarles at Stamford Bridge. A tough decision, yes. And maybe a harsh one too considering how impressive Scarles had been during Diouf’s victorious Africa Cup of Nations campaign.
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Axel Disasi could make his debut for West Ham United at Turf Moor in Jean-Clair Todibo’s absence. Nuno, though, must decide on whether the Frenchman’s fitness can be relied upon. Disasi has not played a competitive game since April 2025.
Furthermore, that Nuno now has the luxury of leaving Freddie Potts and Soungoutou Magassa on the bench in favour of Tomas Soucek and Mateus Fernandes represents a very welcome change from the Guido Rodriguez, James Ward-Prowse and Andy Irving days.
Decisions, decisions, indeed.
West Ham United fans want Axel Disasi to start at Burnley
We at Hammers News asked you to put yourselves in Nuno Espirito Santo’s shoes. Who would you bring into the starting XI if you were sitting in the Turf Moor dugout this weekend?
Perhaps surprisingly, only 40 per cent of you selected Axel Disasi at the time of writing. The remaining 60 per cent of the votes were split between Wilson, Potts, Magassa, Scarles and Adama Traore.
A quarter of our readers voted for Wilson to make a first start since that 3-0 defeat at Wolves. A combined 24 per cent of the vote went the way of Potts and Magassa, though the relative lack of support for a Scarles recall or a full Traore debut reflects the fact that Diouf, Jarrod Bowen and a suddenly-prolific Crysencio Summerville are the last of West Ham’s worries.
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If you were Nuno, which of these players are you calling up for Burnley?
A Disasi debut? A Wilson re-call? Tell us what Nuno must change
“I would play Disasi if he’s fit, with [Konstantinos] Mavropanos, Scarles and [Aaron] Wan-Bissaka,” one fan wrote on our Talking Points platform. “I would replace Soucek and Wilson at halftime with Potts and Castellanos.”
“Disasi, worth a try,” another says. “Potts, a strong presence in front of the defence.”
“Ollie Scarles and Freddie Potts [should come in].”
“Nobody at the club rates Kilman. He plays, we lose. Calamity of a player. Disasi MUST play!”
Nuno Espirito Santo says Disasi available with Jean-Clair Todibo suspended
Of the six names on our list, a certain France international appears the most likely to start.
West Ham are without Jean-Clair Todibo, meaning compatriot Disasi may be thrown straight in just days after he arrived from Stamford Bridge.
“I think he’s been working, he’s in a good place physically,” Nuno says of Disasi, who has not played a single first-team match all season but has been keeping himself fit with Chelsea’s reserves.
“He’s been working physically at Chelsea, [working] very hard, and I see him well. Of course, he has to get inside the team and know his teammates, but I think he can help us.
“He is a strong defender, good on the ball, and a very good option for us. [Disasi’s fitness] is what we are assessing right now, and we will decide [on Friday if he will play].”
Hammers cannot rely on Pablo Felipe and Taty Castellanos
Nuno indicated that introducing Max Kilman was a ‘mistake’ during that second-half collapse at the Bridge. What Disasi lacks in match sharpness, he could make up for in ‘aggression’ and ‘dominance’; the two words he used to describe his style of play earlier in the week.
Nuno also knows that West Ham cannot rely on Pablo and Castellanos’ running themselves into the ground for 90 minutes. The issue, though, is how the Hammers re-shuffle their team once one or the other is too tired to carry on.
This TalkingPoints user is DESPERATE for Axel Disasi to start! 🇫🇷
But what do you think?
Adama Traore may bring ‘supersub’ potential, but lest we forget that it was 33-year-old Wilson who snaffled a stoppage time winner off the bench against Tottenham a few weeks back. Retained until the end of the season, Wilson may yet still have a crucial role to play.
“It’s impossible [to play with this intensity for 90 minutes], not only Taty and Pablo,” Nuno said. “We have to realise that playing away from home the way we did in the first-half [against Chelsea] took a lot of energy out of us.
“I’m thinking about the next solution which can help us and get us through the games.”
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