Nuno Espirito Santo has a seriously tough task on his hands, if he is to guide his West Ham United side to Premier League safety before the end of the season.
Nuno has failed to have the impact that many expected he would when he took over as West Ham manager in September of 2025.
It’s fair to say that Nuno is under pressure in his role as West Ham boss ahead of the Premier League clash with Burnley this weekend.
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
The 2025/26 season has been a dismal one for the Hammers so far, but all is not lost yet.
Nuno still has the ability to mix things up and guide his side away from the drop zone.
West Ham risk losing some of their best players if they fail to retain their Premier League status this season.
So putting together a run of wins over the next couple of months will be crucial to the Hammers’ hopes of making progress.
And Nuno making a really bold selection call will help their chances of doing just that.
Nuno must axe new signing and replace him with West Ham veteran
Despite a recent upturn in form, the Hammers are still in an extremely perilous position right now.
West Ham are currently sitting in 18th position in the Premier League table, six points adrift of Nottingham Forest and Leeds United.
The Hammers’ defence has been the worst in the top flight this season, and West Ham fans will be hoping the addition of Axel Disasi will help tighten things up.
However, goals will ultimately make the difference for Nuno’s side. West Ham have only scored 29 goals in 24 Premier League games this season – the sixth worst tally in the division.
The Hammers will clearly not keep many clean sheets between now and the end of the season, if any. In fact, West Ham are still yet to stop their opponents from scoring since Nuno took over five months ago.
So moving forward, the target must be to score a minimum of two goals every single game.
The real worry is that West Ham don’t have enough firepower in the final third.
The January transfer window additions of Taty Castellanos and Pablo Felipe have done little to address that problem.
Now could be the time for Nuno to make a really bold and somewhat ruthless decision.
Callum Wilson needs to replace Pablo Felipe in West Ham starting XI
Experienced striker Callum Wilson has seen his minutes drastically diminish since the arrivals of Taty and Pablo last month.
However, the 33-year-old still looks like the Hammers’ most potent centre-forward option.
What is the BEST and the WORST thing you’ve seen from Pablo Felipe so far?
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Now it’s time for Nuno to start Wilson regularly in place of Pablo.
That might sound extremely harsh on the 22-year-old Portuguese forward.
It’s also worth highlighting just how hard he works and he has always given 100% every single time he has played for West Ham.
However, there is no room for sentiment in elite level sport, and the truth of the matter is that Pablo is seriously deficient in the quality department.
A front two of Wilson and Taty could work really well for the Hammers, and the Englishman and the Argentine possess different attributes that should make them dovetail perfectly.
Pablo would still be a useful option off the bench for Nuno but it’s time for Wilson to shine for West Ham and help them climb out of the relegation zone.
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