West Ham’s exciting £52.5m duo Gianluca Scamacca and Maxwel Cornet could be in line for long-awaited returns against Man United.
West Ham head to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United in the FA Cup fifth round on Wednesday night.
Man United boss Erik ten Hag rejected suggestions he would allow his players to celebrate their Carabao Cup win on Sunday by insisting his focus had already turned to a “big game against West Ham”.
Red Devils duo Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw also made it clear they and their Man United teammates were fully focused on the West Ham clash despite lifting a first trophy in five years at the weekend.
West Ham’s clear priority for the remainder of the season is Premier League survival. But fighting for a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals is a welcome break from the intensity of that particular battle.
And it could also offer David Moyes the perfect chance to get game time into the legs of two of his big summer purchases.
Two signings West Ham fans were seriously excited about in the summer have barely been seen over the last few months.
In the case of £17.5m arrival Cornet, he has barely been seen at all.
The pacy and versatile winger was expected to be out for a couple of weeks when he was forced off with a calf injury on his first Premier League start for West Ham back at the start of October.
But he has not been seen in the claret and blue since. The Ivorian returned to training recently, though, and is finally said to be free from pain in his calf following specialist treatment in France.
His fellow summer arrival, Italian striker Scamacca, has also been out for eight weeks after injuring his knee against Leeds on January 4th.
With scoring goals a major issue for West Ham this season until the sudden 4-0 burst against Forest on Saturday, it is fair to say Scamacca and Cornet have been missed.
The pair showed signs of combining well in the early Europa Conference League matches.
Now West Ham’s exciting £52.5m duo Scamacca and Cornet could be in line for long-awaited returns against Man United.
Earlier this month Hammers News suggested Cornet’s return date was most likely the FA Cup game at Man United.
Cornet was not on the bench for the game against Forest at the weekend. But Moyes said at the weekend he is impressed with how quick and sharp Cornet has looked on his return to training and revealed he will be in the squad sooner rather than later.
“I’ve been really impressed by how he’s come back. Maxi’s come back a week and looked sharp and quick,” Moyes said in his pre-Forest press conference.
“He looks like he’s on the verge of being ready to be rolled out. I’m pleased because he’s been out for such a long time…
“We haven’t got much time so we might need to get him out as quickly as we possibly can… With us having the midweek cup tie, then a League game, then we’re away in Europe after that, I’m going to need him just for the numbers. We’ll have a look and see what we think as the games go on.”
Scamacca has been on the bench for the last two games without getting on as Moyes eases his striker back into the fold.
With Danny Ings in possession of the West Ham striker spot right now, he is likely to be rested for crucial Premier League games from here on out and is cup-tied for the clash with Man United anyway.
So Scamacca could return to action as a starter or – perhaps more likely – as a substitute if Moyes uses Michail Antonio.
One would imagine Cornet would be in a similar boat if he is in the squad for the Man United clash.
And depending on how the game pans out West Ham fans could see Cornet return dead one five months out.
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