Hammers Closing in on Signing of Edimilson Fernandes
West Ham have been chasing a striker all summer. You know it, I know it, the hermit living in a cave knows it. Bilic confirmed this morning that we were looking at Zaza and Bony, so when news filtered through that the club were closing in on a signing I wasn’t surprised. Until I heard who it was.
Edmilson Fernandes
The World famous Edmilson Fernandes from FC Sion. Worldbeater. Shining light amongst all that is bad and evil. You don’t know who he is? Yeah nor do I.
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To be fair I don’t watch too much of the Swiss league, or Europa League when it’s not big teams. As Fernandes play’s for FC Sion in Switzerland, and with only one international cap and having never playing the Champions League he exists in a blind spot of mine.
Internet research tells me he is a tall player who will run all game. He is reportedly strong on the ball, favouring to hold onto possession than give it away. His midfield position is listed inconsistently, as he fashionably known as a box-to-box midfielder. He brings the ball out of defence and moves forward into attack, and apparently does so very well.
I expect this is as a backup to Lanzini, who we’ve dearly missed in recent weeks. Linking defence and attack at a mixture of different speeds is a tough skill and something that our current midfielders struggle with; Noble doesn’t have the pace and Kouyate is sometimes guilty of being caught ahead of the ball.
What does that mean for West Ham?
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I think it means the end of Pedro Obiang in East London. With Fernandes coming in and others returning to fitness Obiang will struggle to get consistent game-time. We have young players who can step into defensive midfield as well, so I can’t see him staying.
It’s a real shame because I think the Spaniard is a very classy player, but he doesn’t seem to fit Bilic’s plans. I would expect him to move back to Spain or Italy shortly after this deal is complete. Although some sources have said Bilic wants Obiang still, and Fernandes will play the box-to-box role mentioned above, but we could get into a situation where our squad gets so big people are unhappy with playing times.
If we don’t get rid of Obiang then expect a lot of rotation. We already have seen multiple central midfield combinations used and that will only increase as players return from injury.
Next: West Ham Youngsters sign new contracts
The ability to rest Lanzini will come in handy, and a fee of £5.5m shows the board believe he can jump right in. I am confident he will be of the standard, because the board have shown how unwilling they are to part with any kind of money if they feel the player might not be able to cut it at this level.
Excited? I think we can be cautiously optimistic. I’m certainly going to wait for his first match before I make any judgments.