West Ham duo made it clear they don’t trust Michail Antonio and Julen Lopetegui must act. There has been intense debate about who should be Julen Lopetegui’s starting striker but it may have been settled by two West Ham stars.
After finding himself on the bench for West Ham’s season opener against Aston Villa, new striker signing Niclas Fullkrug made one thing perfectly clear.
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Fullkrug said he has not come to West Ham to be a back-up striker.
But his words – thus far at least – have fallen on deaf ears. Hammers boss Julen Lopetegui has started Michail Antonio in all three Premier League games.
Fullkrug showed glimpses of what he’s about when he did start in a Carabao Cup win over Bournemouth. The big German has made it clear he needs to be playing week in, week out in order to find his top fitness and form.
So he has looked somewhat rusty in cameo substitute appearances. To further complicate Lopetegui’s big decision, when Fullkrug came on against Man City his lack of pace allowed the champions to push even further up the pitch.
Lopetegui has big striker decision to make at West Ham
Many West Ham fans have been calling for Lopetegui to finally bring Fullkrug into the Premier League starting XI when they go to Fulham next weekend.
Especially after the 31-year-old scored again for Germany in a 5-0 Nations League win over Hungary.
The signing of Fullkrug has divided opinion among some supporters. Many welcomed the arrival of a proven, top quality goalscorer and target man.
But others wanted to see the club go after a younger striker with that key asset in the English top flight — pace. Technical director Tim Steidten justified the move for Fullkrug by saying he could come in and hit the ground running.
He can’t do that from the bench, though.
Antonio was particularly poor in the defeat to Man City before the international break. He turns 35 this season and is beginning to look like a busted flush as a starting Premier League striker.
Many feel the brilliant Hammers servant must now transition into being an impact sub at best.
It seems some Hammers players may feel the same. Certainly if their actions are anything to go by.
Kudus and Bowen made it clear they don’t trust Antonio. Because a West Ham duo made it clear they don’t trust Antonio anymore and Lopetegui must act.
Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen have both started the season in fine form.
The pair have been driving West Ham forward and are a constant menace to the opposition. On another day the Hammers would have got a draw against Man City before the international break thanks to Kudus and Bowen.
In what proved to be the decisive moment of the match, though, they showed they simply don’t trust Antonio as the number nine.
With the score at 2-1 to Man City, Kudus launched a lightning quick counter attack from his own half.
He found Bowen on the right and sprinted forward to join him and Antonio in what became a three-on-one attack.
Instead of playing the ball a few yards in front of him for Antonio to run onto for a one-touch finish in a central position, Bowen made a more difficult pass across the pitch to Kudus. Kudus then had two options. Lay the ball back for Antonio for a one-touch finish on the edge of the six-yard box. Or go for goal.
