Forget Antonio: Lopetegui must unleash “underrated” West Ham man in rejig. West Ham United have struggled to implement Julen Lopetegui’s more possession-based system since his arrival, only winning one of their opening four games in the Premier League.
One man who has started well is new signing, Max Kilman, who joined from Wolves this summer for a fee of around £40m. The defender has played all five of West Ham’s fixtures so far, totalling 450 minutes, and providing one assist already.
However, the Hammers still seem to have a strike department issue, with Michail Antonio struggling for form, and Niclas Füllkrug struggling for fitness, which could be enough reason for a creative solution from Lopetegui ahead of tomorrow’s meeting with Chelsea.
Antonio was taken off at half-time against Fulham in the Hammers’ stalemate last time out, as the striker has now made it four games on the trot without a goal in the Premier League. Despite playing 251 minutes, and taking six shots, the Jamaican has yet to even find a shot on target.
Last season, the 34-year-old made 32 appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring seven goals, providing two assists, and totalling 2,032 minutes. The last season he scored 10+ in the league being the 2021/22 campaign.
Against Fulham, Lopetegui made the change to bring Antonio off, putting Jarrod Bowen upfront, and Mohammed Kudus over to the right, in order to introduce new signing, Crysencio Summerville, on the left. Bowen played as a striker multiple times last season, in the absence of Antonio.
Labeled as “underrated” last season by Tony Cascarino, Bowen showed his ability to score and be prolific in front of goal, scoring 20 goals in 44 appearances.
22 of these appearances came as a centre-forward for the Hammers, with Antonio spending spells on the sideline, and Kudus playing on the right.
Despite being more natural coming off the right wing, Bowen can definitely do a job upfront, as he has the required intelligence and movement to create chances for himself, and link play effectively with his teammates.
Bowen can provide a higher level of accuracy in and around the box, being more efficient with his touches, and providing a higher volume of shots. His 2.61 shots per 90, with 1.10 on target, whilst generating 0.35 xG per 90, is all proof of this.
Whilst Antonio works hard, and wins more aerial duels than Bowen, the rest is clear to see, Bowen excels in most other metrics ahead of Antonio, and this change would allow the Hammers to start another pacey wide option in the team, such as Summerville, in order to hit Chelsea in transition, and cause them problems.
If Fullkrug remains out through injury, Bowen through the middle could be their best option, playing with a slightly more conservative game plan, looking to hit Chelsea on the counter, and be clinical with the chances they create.
