Dean Ashton’s comments on Taty Castellanos and Pablo Felipe will raise eyebrows among West Ham fans.
The Hammers signed Taty and Pablo in January to provide Nuno Espirito Santo with more firepower in the final third.
Unfortunately, the attacking duo have not hit the ground running at the London Stadium and have come under scrutiny.
This reality makes Ashton’s assessment of Taty and Pablo before West Ham’s game against Crystal Palace even more surprising.
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Dean Ashton rates Taty Castellanos and Pablo Felipe highly despite criticism
Taty Castellanos has scored just five goals in 17 appearances for West Ham since joining from Lazio in January.
Despite scoring an important brace in the Hammers’ 4-0 win over Wolves, the 27-year-old has generally underwhelmed.
He often finds himself in good positions but rarely looks convincing in front of goal and misses plenty of chances.
As for Pablo Felipe, he has struggled even more than his strike partner since he arrived from Portuguese club Gil Vicente.
Pablo scored 10 goals in the first half of the season in Portugal, but has still not found the back of the net for West Ham.
However, Ashton has been impressed by both Taty and Pablo’s impact on the team as a partnership in a 4-4-2 formation.
Even though they have rarely scored for the Hammers, Ashton insisted they are contributing a lot in the final third.
“I would hate to play as a lone striker,” he said. “I genuinely would because it would be so difficult to know where to run to benefit yourself.
“We used to lick our lips at the likes of [Dwight] Yorke and [Andy] Cole, [Teddy] Sheringham and [Alan] Shearer, and that sort of combination.
“It’s worked wonders for West Ham. It’s really given them the shot they needed in forward areas…
“They’ve got an incredible work rate, and you need that in a relegation battle.”
While Taty and Pablo should not be judged on scoring goals alone, they have no excuse for not doing much better in that regard.
Pablo’s goalless run is particularly difficult to defend, as he often drifts through games without contributing much else, either.
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