Funnily enough, seven games into his West Ham United career, this was probably the first time the fans have been able to watch former Gil Vicente forward Pablo Felipe play in his preferred position.
As Nuno Espirito Santo made seven changes from the Hammers team which defeated Fulham five days earlier, Taty Castellanos dropped out and the 22-year-old returned to lead the line.
Pablo is at Nuno’s disposal once again following a month out with injury.
Ally gets it 😎 Where should Pablo Felipe play for West Ham – as a No.9 or a No.10?
And leading the line with typical determination and endeavour at the London Stadium, the West Ham United boss will have been relieved to see that Pablo Felipe does not appear to be suffering from any after-effects following a calf problem which saw him ruled out of five successive matches in league and cup.
Quite the opposite. What his return means for Taty Castellanos, well, that remains to be seen.
Pablo Felipe proves he is a number nine at West Ham United
Nuno opted to give Pablo the chance to play as the out-and-out number nine, rather than in the supporting, ‘second striker’ role he has occupied since arriving from Gil Vicente in Portugal.
It was a decision which paid off. Thus, allowing Pablo to showcase the qualities which made him arguably the biggest breakout star of the 2025/26 Primeira Liga season.
In 60 minutes on the pitch, Pablo constantly darted in behind the Brentford backline while drawing their defenders towards their own goal. He opened up the space intelligently as Adama Traore charged on and fizzed a shot wide.
On other occasions, Pablo dropped deeper and allowed the wingers to run in behind. One intelligent flicked header set the captain away on a night when Jarrod Bowen converted a penalty and a close-range volley to end his mini-drought.
Pablo’s battling spirit and ferocious work ethic have made him a popular presence, if not a prolific one. He is still yet to score a West Ham goal. Yet, with the jury still out on Castellanos, it will not have passed Nuno by that Pablo produced his most effective, most threatening performance when playing in the same number nine role from which he notched 10 goals in 14 matches at Gil Vicente.
As Ally McCoist said during TNT Sport’s coverage – well, for those of you lucky enough to witness it – Pablo has the makings of a West Ham cult hero. The goals are yet to flow, but he appears to be one of those centre-forwards whose mere presence elevates those around him.
“He’s one of these guys that the fans will enjoy watching because he’s all effort,” says McCoist, a great goalscorer in his time with Rangers and Scotland.
“He could do with a few more goals but the fans will like him because of his style of play.”
Will Nuno Espirito Santo start Pablo against Manchester City?
Who was West Ham’s BEST PLAYER against Brentford?! 🤔
His intelligence, movement, and unselfish link play was a problem for Brentford until his withdrawal on the hour mark.
Pablo also won three aerial duels, his prodigious leap giving West Ham the option to go longer in an attempt to beat an opposition press.
Castellanos may have lashed a penalty in off the bar as West Ham emerged victorious on spot-kicks but, in what could be a worrying development for the Argentine, Nuno’s attack appeared to lose some fluency and physicality once Pablo departed. Castellanos was particularly poor in the 1-0 win at Fulham last midweek, too.
So, as West Ham host Manchester City on Saturday at 8pm, Pablo’s eye-catching return gives the head coach some food for thought.
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