Hammers fans will be very interested to see what Pablo Fornals has told Carlos Soler about West Ham. Carlos Soler joined West Ham United on a season-long loan from Paris Saint-Germain on transfer deadline day, and Pablo Fornals told him something very interesting about us. West Ham midfielder Carlos Soler will undoubtedly be a big fan favourite at the London Stadium, just like Pablo Fornals was before him.
After a long drawn out transfer saga, Carlos Soler travelled to East London on Friday to undergo his medical ahead of his move to West Ham. The 27-year-old rocked up at the London Stadium seventh months after his countryman left the club.
Pablo Fornals struggled during his final year or so at West Ham, mainly because he didn’t fit into Moyes’s system whereby players weren’t allowed to express themselves in possession. Due to his struggles during his final 12-18 months with the Hammers, he surely would have been delighted to return home to Spain when he joined Real Betis, in spite of the love he had for the Hammers fans.
So what did he tell his good friend Soler about West Ham?
Fornals was adored by the London Stadium faithful. If Soler achieved the same levels of adoration, he would have been an outstanding success at the club. Soler spoke to WHUFC.com after joining the Hammers on a loan deal from PSG.
“I’ve spoken with Pablo Fornals, and he has told me that this Club is one of the biggest in the Premier League, so let’s have a big season. He is an idol here and spent four-and-a-half seasons at West Ham. Hopefully, I can repeat his success.”
How good is that to hear. Once a Hammer, always a Hammer.
I have to say though, ‘this Club is one of the biggest in the Premier League’ – that really is a bold statement from the former Villarreal man.
Still, I love to hear it!
Pablo Fornals sold too soon
Had the Hammers kept hold of Fornals, I am convinced that he would have succeeded with Lopetegui at the helm.
The West Ham head coach likes his teams to have more possession than the opposition, and Fornals would have thrived in that system, I have no doubts about that.
The 28-year-old was never going to flourish with Moyes in charge, due to the Scot’s prehistoric route one tactics. He joined Real Betis in January, with essentially just 18 months remaining on his Hammers deal (we had a one-year extension option).
Had Pablo Fornals remained at West Ham, he could have enhanced his cult hero status even further still alongside his old mate Carlos Soler.
That said, had we kept hold of Pablo, would Lopetegui then have signed Soler in the summer? I guess we will never know the answer to that!
