Nuno Espirito Santo has spoken frequently about ‘options’ and ‘solutions’ as West Ham United look to kick-start their survival push away to Burnley in the latest round of Premier League fixtures.
‘Solutions’ are required, he says, if the Hammers are to right the wrongs of so many mid-game collapses.
Bringing on Max Kilman at Stamford Bridge was maybe ‘a mistake’ in hindsight, Nuno Espirito Santo indicated during his press conference on Thursday afternoon.
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Kilman entered the fray in place of Pablo Felipe when West Ham United were 2-1 up at Stamford Bridge. A game they would go on to lose 3-2. After giving up a two-goal lead for the second time in three months, Nuno accepts that he will have to find other ways of seeing out a valuable victory.
Soungoutou Magassa, Freddie Potts and Toams Soucek battling for West Ham United spot
Why not utilise the tenacity of Freddie Potts? That was the question on the lips of many Hammers News readers following a second half in which the Hammers barely laid a glove on Moises Caicedo and matchwinner Enzo Fernandez? Nuno had the defensively-minded Soungoutou Magassa on the bench, too, but did not use him either.
On a more positive note, that Nuno has the luxury of leaving Potts and Magassa out of the team, in place of the in-form Tomas Soucek and Mateus Fernandes, speaks to the ‘options’ he now has at his disposal. The days of Guido Rodriguez, James Ward-Prowse and Andy Irving are – fortunately – a thing of the past.
Both Magassa and Soucek were heavily linked with Turkish champions Galatasaray over the last few weeks. West Ham ruled out selling either, though. Presumably to the relief of Nuno. And most definitely to the frustration of his opposite number in Istanbul.
Okan Buruk rules out bringing Soucek or Magassa to Galatasaray
The Turkish transfer window closes on Friday.
Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk appears to have reluctantly accepted that no new midfielders will be arriving before the deadline. This comes after Galatasaray vice-president Abdullah Kavukcu flew to London to meet with West Ham officials about a potential deal for Magassa, per Aspor.
The Daily Mail also claimed that the Champions League last-16 outfit had shown an interest in ending Soucek’s half-decade in East London.
“We were looking for a midfielder,” Buruk now tells Sporx. “You can’t always get everything you want.
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“Making transfers during the mid-season break isn’t easy. We didn’t get the players we wanted or had in mind. There’s no point in making transfers [to] acquire a player I don’t want.
“We went for a young player [instead]. Renato Nhaga [an 18-year-old signed from Casa Pia] is an investment for the future. We watched his matches. He’s a player who can currently be in the squad. Apart from that, we don’t have any other transfers in sight.
“Our president, our board of directors, and Abdullah Kavukcu are very well-intentioned. Our scouting team is also working. Sometimes, there are players you can’t get with money.”
Our Hammers News readers were not happy when reports emerged claiming that Magassa could be on the way after only half a season and nine Premier League starts.
Nuno clearly feels that the highly-experienced Soucek still has a lot to offer too, both on and off the pitch.
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