West Ham United have numerous internationals away on duty with their respective nations right now.
It is a big sign of the progress that West Ham have made as a club that David Moyes is currently without 10 players due to international commitments.
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That would have been 11 had Lucas Paqueta been selected by Brazil (he was omitted from their squad with the ongoing investigation into betting irregularities rumbling on in the background).
These are very exciting times for the Hammers.
And one thing that really stands out for me is that a player who is nowhere near Moyes’s starting XI right now is playing a key role for his country…
One of West Ham United’s internationals played 69 minutes in a very interesting position last night
Maxwel Cornet joined the Hammers from Burnley last summer for around £17.5 million.
However, he suffered terrible injury problems last season and has only played 22 games for West Ham.
Every time Moyes has used Cornet, he has utilised him as a left or right winger.
However, the 26-year-old played 69 minutes for Ivory Coast last night and was used as a left wing-back by The Elephants manager Jean-Louis Gasset.
This is a really interesting development and one that Moyes will undoubtedly have noticed.
Perhaps the former Burnley man can salvage his Hammers career by playing in a new position. He has operated there for the Clarets and Lyon before after all.
I firmly believe that Cornet has a greater chance of forging a career at West Ham by competing with Emerson Palmieri for the left wing-back spot than he would have by challenging for the left wing starting role.
Most of West Ham’s internationals seem to have done well during this break but perhaps Cornet has experienced the most important one of the lot, certainly from a personal perspective.
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