Former West Ham United manager Alan Pardew knows a thing or two about transformative January signings.
Dean Ashton, Nigel Reo-Coker and Bobby Zamora all moved to Upton Park in mid-season deals.
Only time will tell, though, if Nuno Espirito Santo’s current crop of January additions will one day be spoken about in the same glowing terms. Pablo Felipe is a doubt to face Manchester United in Tuesday’s 8.15pm kick-off, but the West Ham United boss will have a confident Taty Castellanos leading the line just three days after opening his Premier League account at Burnley.
How West Ham could line-up vs Man United TONIGHT! ⚽
Describe this XI in one word…
Nuno felt Axel Disasi ‘did really well’ too on his first top-flight outing of the season. Thrown in at the deep end after months drowning in the Chelsea bomb squad, Disasi cast off the armbands and butterflied his way across the pool like Leon Marchand in an Olympic final.
Venezuelan starlet Keiber Lamadrid could be in Nuno’s matchday squad for the first time when Michael Carrick returns to East London, meanwhile.
And Alan Pardew, who was responsible for three of the more successful January signings in West Ham’s history, believes it is no coincidence that his old employers have rattled off four wins in five on the back of a winter overhaul.
Alan Pardew hails Nuno Espirito Santo’s West Ham United newbies
Only six of the players who started in that 3-0 opening weekend defeat by Sunderland are still at the club today. Should Nuno stick with the XI that beat Burnley, meanwhile, only six of the players who started in December’s 1-1 draw at Old Trafford will be on the team sheet tonight.
Pardew is wary of counting his chickens while the eggs are still some way off hatching, though.
The Hammers may have three more points at this stage than they did in the ‘Great Escape’ of 2007, but that remarkable relegation of 2003 proves that relegation can still snare the most talented of squads. Though at least they have given themselves a fighting chance, something which seemed highly unlikely before a run of wins and a series of impactful signings.
“The Hammers have found some unbelievable form,” Pardew tells talkSPORT. “And the only thing that haunts me about West Ham is that they hold the record for the Premier League of going down with 42 points.
“When I look at this league table now – teams on 29 points at 25 games, Nottingham Forest on 26 and West Ham on 23 – they’ve made it interesting. Yeah, they’ve made it interesting, but this is the good news for West Ham; the signings they’ve made in the window have made a massive impact.”
Pardew fears for Thomas Frank’s Tottenham Hotspur
The ‘teams’ Pardew is referring to are Leeds and Tottenham Hotspur.
Daniel Farke’s side breezed past Nottingham Forest on Friday, meaning there is now only two points separating 17th and 18th. Life is unlikely to get much easier for Thomas Frank, though, with his sorry Spurs side hosting Newcastle tonight before Sunday’s North London derby.
Who would YOU start if Pablo is injured? 🤕
Callum Wilson again? Fernandes at 10? A Keiber Lamadrid debut?
Newcastle themselves could still be dragged in. Brighton appear in free-fall too, having lost 1-0 to bitter rivals Crystal Palace on the weekend.
“It’s the lack of points that the two below are gaining. Burnley have got 15, Wolves have only got eight. So that third [relegation spot] might be higher than normal,” Pardew adds. “It might not be 35, 36 points. It might be 39, it might be 40, you know. Who knows?
“So at this point in time, because of the form West Ham are in, it is a little bit worrying for the Newcastles, for the Crystal Palaces, for the Brightons, and for the Cockerels [Tottenham].”
Leroy Rosenior lauds Chelsea loanee Axel Disasi
One-time West Ham forward Leroy Rosenior is equally optimistic.
He saw his son, Liam, let the forgotten man of Stamford Bridge – Disasi – rebuild his reputation down the road in West London.
“I do think that the signings have given West Ham a real good lift. You mentioned Taty Castellanos got his goal. I think Disasi coming in, and people said ‘look he hasn’t played’ but he looks OK from what I saw,” Rosenior Sr tells the Premier League Productions Fanzone.
“You know, he came in for [the suspended Jean-Clair] Todibo. He looked solid and just looks like he’s playing sensibly even though he’s not 100 per cent fit.
“So, Nuno’s signings have made a big difference.”
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