West Ham need to invest more time in Pablo Fornals development

Pablo Fornals was substituted into the match for West Ham against Aston Villa in the 62nd minute, and once again failed to make any positive impact, leaving many fans feeling restless. Fornals needs more time to adapt.

When West Ham signed Pablo Fornals from Villarreal for a fee around 28,00 mil. €, many Hammers fans were excited to see what the young Spanish international could bring to the side. However, after another disappointing substitute performance against Aston Villa, supporters are growing restless with Fornals, and want to see him contribute to the squad.

It is justified, however, when your club spends a considerable amount of money on young promising talent, it is fair to hold them to high expectations. With Fornals, I think it will take him more time than previous West Ham signings to truly find his role in the team.

The first thing that Manuel Pellegrini and his staff will need to decide is what position Fornals is best at for the Irons. We know that he is capable of playing a central attacking midfielder role, however, with Manuel Lanzini pulling the strings, fresh off of signing a new contract, its very unlikely to see the Argentine gem dropped from the squad. In the first team XI, that essentially leaves him to play as a central midfielder or out wide as an attacker, something the Spaniard might have to get used to doing.

I trust that Manuel Pellegrini will eventually figure out how to utilize such an elite talent as he would not have brought Fornals to East London without seeing something special in him. The focus now shifts to West Ham trying to figure out exactly how Fornals can help the Hammers the most. Keep in mind, Fornals has only started one Premier League match so far, and due to his price tag, is definitely destined to start in a lot of matches this season.

The English game is much different from the Spanish game in terms of the pace and physicality, which could be part of the problem for Fornals too. In La Liga, players are used to having time on the ball and are usually able to think and choose a player before delivering a calculated ball. In the Premier League, you have no time on the ball and need to play a pass quickly. If Fornals can get used to the pace of the game, he should fit in just fine.

Although Pablo Fornals is not currently in Manuel Pellegrini’s first-choice XI, he needs to be ready at all times. There are various injuries throughout the season, and the Hammers need to be able to bring a quality player off of the bench. I have no doubt in my mind that Fornals will be ready to go the next time Pellegrini calls his name.