West Ham United took on Hungarian side Ferencvaros in our first pre-season game of the summer, and we’ve compiled our player ratings from the match.
In a hot afternoon out in Austria, Julen Lopetegui didn’t allow the speed or intensity of his West Ham team to drop, and that was hugely refreshing to see.
The likes of Luis Guilherme and Max Kilman were given their first outings for the club since signing for us this summer, whilst under-21 stars Lewis Orford, Freddie Potts and Gideon Kodua started the game as well.
Lopetegui named an exciting starting lineup for the friendly clash today, and it was a great opportunity for the Hammers fans to see how the Spaniard wants his team to operate.
I was hugely impressed with the way that Lopetegui was barking orders from the sidelines, but some of the players did themselves no favours whatsoever with their poor performances.
There were the odd few who impressed, but overall it was a fairly underwhelming display from West Ham.
On the whole though, the exercise today would have been key for Lopetegui to get a look at which players can implement his ideas, and which ones can’t.
West Ham player ratings vs Ferencvaros
Lukasz Fabianski – 5
Very average display from the veteran stopper. He showed his age at times with his lack of explosiveness when coming off his line, and was beaten far too easily on two occasions. I fully expect him to be nothing more than Alphonse’s Areola’s backup this season.
Aaron Cresswell – 6
Decent performance from the skipper today. He offered us an outlet down the left hand side but his lack of pace is a huge concern.
Max Kilman – 6
The towering central defender looks like the real deal. Tenacious in the tackle and extremely powerful – one of our better players on the day. However, it’s worth noting that he’s nowhere near full fitness and that shone through at times today.
Konstantinos Mavropanos – 4
Some sloppy passing really undermined his display. The Greek centre-back defended poorly in general and he allowed Ferencvaros to score their second goal, after he allowed his man to ghost into the box with ease. The worst player on the pitch today in my opinion.
Gideon Kodua – 6
Considering the fact that Kodua started at right-back, I think he can be proud of his performance today. He’s a forward by trade, so playing in defence can’t have been easy for him. I thought he showed good energy, pace and determination, although he was undoubtedly lacking in quality.
James Ward-Prowse – 6
Kept things moving in the middle of the park but I still expect a lot more from the former Saints man. Considering his technical ability, he really should be playing more defence-splitting passes.
Lewis Orford – 7
The 18-year-old was arguably the most impressive West Ham player out in Austria against the Hungarian side today. He was very comfortable in possession and kept things ticking with his brisk and incisive passing.
Freddie Potts – 6
Solid as per usual, but nothing special from the 20-year-old. I do expect to see a lot of him this season though, filling in for Edson Alvarez when needed.
Luis Guilherme – 6
The 18-year-old Brazilian is clearly still long way off being the finished article, but he didn’t disgrace himself during his first game in a Hammers shirt. Looked like he has the build needed to succeed in the Premier League.
Maxwel Cornet – 7
It was so refreshing to see Cornet given some minutes this afternoon. The 27-year-old started up front and worked incredible hard to close down the opposition defenders. Maybe Moyes missed a trick by not playing him centrally?
Mohammed Kudus – 7
The Ghanaian’s quality is well-known, and despite the fact that he didn’t impose himself on the game as much as he can, he was still our most dangerous attacker.
Wes Foderingham – 6
The 33-year-old didn’t really have anything to do of note, and he put in a solid performance with his feet.
Emerson Palmieri – 7
The Italian looked lively down our left hand flank and his athleticism, energy and dynamism is like night and day from Cresswell’s.
Kaelan Casey – 7
Impressive once again from the 20-year-old who certainly didn’t seem to be overawed by playing with the senior side. Very comfortable in possession and he showed impressive positional awareness.
Kurt Zouma – 6
I’m still concerned at the way in which Zouma moves around the pitch. The 29-year-old just seems to be in constant pain, and that is always a worry when coming up against quick forwards. He was decent this afternoon though in fairness to him.
Nayef Aguerd – 6
The Moroccan looked incredibly rusty at times, as was expected to be the case. I’m just not sure he will be here beyond the end of the summer transfer window, certainly if Lopetegui signs another centre-back. That said, he did score our equaliser so kudos to him for that.
George Earthy – 7
The 19-year-old is such a talent and looked incredibly silky out there this afternoon. I expect him to play a big role for us this season, certainly in the cup competitions.
Andy Irving – 5
Neat and tidy in the middle of the pitch but I sense he will have to show something extra, if he is to have a future at West Ham under Lopetegui. He seemed to lack any of the physical attributes required to succeed at the very highest level.
Patrick Kelly – 5
The 19-year-old is a real talent, but he struggled to get into the game. He’ll have much better days than this, but he certainly didn’t disgrace himself.
Danny Ings – 8
The under fire striker proved he still has the goods when needed. A really well-taken goal with a wonderfully executed free-kick capped off a fine all-round performance from the 31-year-old. He deserves an 8/10 purely for his goal really.
Callum Marshall – 5
The Northern Irish youngster came on in the 60th minute – 15 minutes after all of the half-time subs listed above. He put in a solid if not spectacular performance, and he never really showed what he’s truly capable of.
Overall, it was a really good run-out for the boys, and I expect them all to really kick on now, as they start to edge towards full match fitness.
The West Ham player ratings this afternoon were a real mixed bag – some impressed while others didn’t. In that respect it was a typical first pre-season game of the season.
READ ALSO:
Declan Rice makes it very clear who he thinks West Ham United’s best player is
West Ham now want to sign ‘explosive’ £50m star from Premier League giants
West Ham eye bargain summer window deal for £6m star who scored 6 PL goals last season
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
