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Pablo Fornals continues to show improvement for West Ham

By Jay Korman

WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 04: Adama Traore of Wolverhampton Wanderers battles for possession with Pablo Fornals of West Ham United during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United at Molineux on December 04, 2019 in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 04: Adama Traore of Wolverhampton Wanderers battles for possession with Pablo Fornals of West Ham United during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United at Molineux on December 04, 2019 in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images) /
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After a slow start to life in the Premier League for the Hammers, Fornals has shown steady improvement over the past couple of weeks, leaving many West Ham fans hopeful for the future.

For many players, West Ham included, adapting to the Premier League can be tough. The game is more physically demanding, emotionally draining, and the overall intensity seems like a step up in competition compared to many other leagues around the world.

For Pablo Fornals, he has experienced both the highs and the lows that the Premier League season can bring to the table. The start of the season was tough for the young Spaniard. Fornals came into East London with a ton of expectations.

He mostly played in a central attacking midfielder role at his old club Villarreal, and the hope was that he could bring some attacking firepower to the Hammers midfield. However, Fornals struggled at the beginning of the season and found it tough to get into the starting XI most weeks.

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 14: Angelo Ogbonna of West Ham United celebrates with teammates Pablo Fornals during the Premier League match between Southampton FC and West Ham United at St Mary’s Stadium on December 14, 2019 in Southampton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 14: Angelo Ogbonna of West Ham United celebrates with teammates Pablo Fornals during the Premier League match between Southampton FC and West Ham United at St Mary’s Stadium on December 14, 2019 in Southampton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images) /

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As the season went on, Fornals started to show some improvement. After scoring in a league cup match, the young maestro started to gain a bit of confidence and began to get a feel for the speed of the English game.

Manuel Pellegrini also experimented with Fornals playing in a wide position, and it has seemed to open up Fornals attacking play a bit more. In his last 4 matches, Fornals has been on fire. He has 3 assists in his last 4 Premier League matches, most recently assisting in the Hammers 1-0 win over Southampton at Saint Mary’s.

This is the kind of improvement that many West Ham fans will love to see from Fornals. Although it took a bit of time for Fornals to adapt to the Premier League, I think he has shown in the past couple of matches that he is more than capable of turning his performances around.

Next. Aaron Cresswell has had a strong start to this season for West Ham. dark

He is simply too talented of a player to be on the Hammers bench, so it is up to Manuel Pellegrini to figure out how to better integrate him into the squad. Hopes are high that Fornals can explode in the second half of the campaign and help the Irons fly up the table.