West Ham take on fierce London rivals Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday lunchtime and may have just received a timely boost.
There are certain players teams simply can’t function properly without and West Ham are no different.
It could be argued Chelsea would not be the same side without Cole Palmer.
West Ham are still figuring out which of their nine new players that might be.
New Hammers boss Julen Lopetegui has made that task all the more difficult with the way he has drip-fed signings into Premier League action so far.
The Spaniard needs to settle on his best XI soon, though, as some fans are already growing frustrated.
West Ham vs Chelsea is one of the country’s most underrated football rivalries.
There is no love lost between the Irons and the Blues on or off the pitch.
While the rivalry may have been diluted in recent years since the departures of John Terry and Frank Lampard it’s still a big game for both clubs.
Top West Ham star drops major hint he’s back for Chelsea
Historically Chelsea have a slight edge, winning 55 of the 122 clashes with West Ham.
The Hammers have won 44 while there have been 23 draws.
Enzo Maresca is under pressure to get the most out of Chelsea’s expensively-assembled and bloated squad.
Lopetegui is feeling some heat at West Ham too.
He must show he can take the team on a level from David Moyes by playing a more attractive brand of football while competing for the European spots.
The Hammers were hit with a crushing blow concerning striker Niclas Fullkrug – who was wanted by Chelsea during the summer – and ex Blues star Emerson Palmieri.
Both Fullkrug and Palmieri are big doubts for the Chelsea clash having been absent from West Ham training this week.
Lopetegui told the press he would give both players until Friday before making a final decision.
Now a top West Ham star missing from training has dropped a major hint he’s back for Chelsea.
West Ham have the option of playing Jarrod Bowen up front and bringing another former Chelsea target Crysencio Summerville into the side for the game if Fullkrug is not fit.
So it could be argued having Emerson available is more important.
Key Hammer Emerson declares himself fit for Blues
He brings natural balance to the team. And his only senior back-is Aaron Cresswell.
The prospect of ageing Hammer Cresswell facing Palmer and Noni Madueke on that side would fill Chelsea with confidence.
So it would probably mean Aaron Wan-Bissaka being switched to left-back. That creates its own problem, though, as the ageing Vladimir Coufal would then come back in to start at right-back up against the rapid Pedro Neto.
It just upsets the whole chemistry West Ham are trying to build.
And Wan-Bissaka has already showed he can link up well with Bowen or Kudus on the right.
But there appears to be great news for West Ham after a big social media hint from Emerson.
The man West Ham paid Chelsea £13.5m for appears to have declared himself fit for the big game.
Taking to his Instagram Stories overnight, Emerson has posted a picture of himself in action alongside a West Ham vs Chelsea graphic with the kick-off time.
This is fantastic news for Lopetegui.
Emerson is so important to the team in more ways than one.
Not only as a player himself on the left but also in that another key player in Wan-Bissaka doesn’t have to be shifted out of position to cover.
West Ham vs Chelsea at the London Stadium kicks off at 12.30pm and is live on TNT Sports.
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