Nuno Espirito Santo did not shy away from addressing those Callum Wilson ‘rumours’ moments after West Ham United’s veteran frontman pushed Thomas Frank ever closer to the Tottenham precipice.
He might not have the intensity of Taty Castellanos or the longevity of Pablo Felipe.
But let a ball drop loose inside the six-yard box, and no one will react quicker than Callum Wilson. Like a 33-year-old piranha shaking off the algae to devour a tasty morsel which dares to enter his vicinity.
No one in West Ham United’s squad – not even captain Jarrod Bowen – can match Wilson’s penchant for Premier League poaching. That latest of winners at the home of the enemy took his tally to 93 in the competition.
Pretend you call the shots – what are you doing over Callum Wilson’s future?
Match winner 😍
A 93rd goal, in the 93rd minute. Fitting, really.
Wilson pounced after Guglielmo Vicario flapped at a stoppage-time set-piece. And as the travelling West Ham fans relished the chance to rub Spurs’ noses in it – this felt like Wilson’s very own Manuel Lanzini moment, albeit to claim all three points rather than to rescue one – suggestions that the club ever considered terminating his contract must surely now be put to bed.
Nuno Espirito Santo hails West Ham United’s London derby hero Callum Wilson
Reports emerged at the beginning of January that, with West Ham bringing in both Pablo Felipe and Taty Castellanos, there was no place for Callum Wilson in Nuno’s plans anymore.
Nuno even indicated, before the 2-1 FA Cup victory over QPR, that the experienced England international was free to leave.
Leicester City, Celtic and Burnley have all been linked of late, alongside a bevvy of Saudi Arabian clubs.
Now, Nuno did not confirm or deny whether his Spurs heroics would secure Wilson a prolonged stay in East London. But as the ‘rumours’ continue to swirl – rumours partly fuelled by the man in the dugout – this was the timeliest of reminders about what Wilson can bring to the party off the bench.
“Callum came in, with all these rumours going around, he came in and gave us the winning goal,” a delighted Nuno told reporters following what was only his fourth win in 18 matches since replacing Graham Potter.
“We are here to help. All the players must work. We are in a tough situation but we believe, and we have to keep going and working hard and believing more.”
Nuno lauds Hammers backline as Konstantinos Mavropanos and Jean-Clair Todibo step up
Callum Wilson at the death!
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Wilson singled out the ‘fantastic’ Crysencio Summerville on a day when West Ham’s £30 million winger finally scored a league goal. His first since Julen Lopetegui was facing off against Erik ten Hag.
Pablo Felipe played a ‘really nice’ role in Summerville’s 15th minute opener. Castellanos put himself about too, with what is fast becoming a trademark performance of class and chaos. A yellow card for dissent here, an overhead kick there. A glaring miss from point-blank range, and the odd wondrous flick around the corner.
Jean-Clair Todibo and Konstantinos Mavropanos also produced arguably their best performances of the Nuno era.
“It was really good the way we defended, the way we pressed, the way we combined and moved forward,” Nuno said, Wilson’s winner very much against the run of play after Cristian Romero’s 64th minute bullet header threatened to spark a Tottenham turnaround.
“Of course, in the second half, Spurs were going to react. There were a lot of balls in our box, but the players were resilient, they showed character and belief to keep the ball from going in the net.
“And then always with the hope that our luck is there for us to work for it. And I think, rightly so, we deserve it.
“[All of our players] that are here, we believe in them.”
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