Nuno Espirito Santo has mixed feelings about West Ham United losing Aaron Wan-Bissaka and El Hadji Malick Diouf to the African Cup of Nations, ahead of Saturday’s clash with Premier League champions Manchester City.
Sao Tome-born Nuno loves tuning into AFCON when arguably the most thrilling and unpredictable of football’s international tournaments rolls around. This will give him something else to do, then, while he is racking his brains trying to plot an escape from the drop zone.
On the other hand, the 35th edition of the competition means West Ham United will be without both Aaron Wan-Bissaka and El Hadji Malick Diouf for the foreseeable future. Should DR Congo and Senegal reach the latter stages, Wan-Bissaka and Diouf may miss seven Premier League games across the next month and a half.
Starting with Man City this weekend.
How DAMAGING will it be for West Ham to lose both Wan-Bissaka and Diouf?
And is this a make-or-break spell for Ollie Scarles?
On a more positive note, Ollie Scarles is back in first-team training.
Even if he is deemed not fit to start, although Nuno hints that he might well be, the versatile Kyle Walker-Peters can provide cover on the left-hand side.
Nuno Espirito Santo backs Ollie Scarles and Kyle Walker-Peters at West Ham United
Scarles, West Ham’s Young Player of the Year, was in the squad for the first time since October when Aston Villa triumphed 3-2 at the London Stadium last weekend. He has played only 70 minutes of top-flight football this season.
Expect that number to rise substantially between now and mid-January.
Walker-Peters has not started a match since the 3-1 victory over Newcastle in early-November, meanwhile. But he, alongside Scarles, are seen by the boss as ‘natural’ successors with Wan-Bissaka and Diouf now thousands of miles away.
Furthermore, it’s not as if West Ham did not know that this was coming. The looming AFCON was probably a big part of the reason why they signed the two-footed Walker-Peters on a free from Southampton in the first place.
“No, no new injury issues,” Nuno said during his press conference on Thursday lunchtime. “Niclas [Fullkrug] returned today for part of the session.
“More than that, Aaron is out and Malick is out. Nothing [new to be worried about] for the game specifically, but they are unavailable.
“Everybody else is available, I hope.
“I’m happy for them because I think it’s important to go to the national teams. But for us, as a squad, we are going to miss [Wan-Bissaka and Diouf]. It was something that was already scheduled, but we have to deal with the situation.
“[Walker-Peters and Scarles] are the natural options in those positions. Then, we will try to find versatile players within the squad who can also cover those roles, but Kyle and Ollie are the natural options right now.”
A couple of WINNABLE fixtures on the horizon! 🗓️
How many points will West Ham pick up in their next five games?
Nuno knows the Hammers face a tough test against Manchester City
Former boss Sam Allardyce raved about Wan-Bissaka’s defensive ability following an exceptional performance on his return to Old Trafford a few weeks back. His trademark slide tackles and his elite one-v-one qualities would have come in extremely handy against a Man City side chock-full of fearsome talent.
“[Manchester City] are very, very good, very talented, and have a very good manager,” Nuno says of a side West Ham have not beaten since 2015. “It is going to be very tough. It’s up to us to try and compete well against a good team.
“They are playing really well.
“We prepare the same way we prepare for every match; trying to provide the details that are important without isolating any single Manchester City player. It’s not about [singling out Haaland]. It’s about how we can compete against all of them.
“First, City. Let’s focus on the task we have to do against City. Then, we see the schedule. Day by day, game by game – that is how we approach it. That is our reality. Every day is important.”
West Ham have been linked with Sacha Boey of Bayern Munich of late.
A right-back struggling for game time at the Bundesliga leaders, and one who could add extra depth to Nuno’s backline. Then again, with funds already tight and as Nuno prioritises a centre-forward in January, the likelihood is that the Hammers will put their faith in Walker-Peters and Scarles to do the job.
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