Green Street Hammers
Fansided

West Ham’s Xande Silva deserves a shot to start against Chelsea

By Jay Korman

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 17: Xande Silva of West Ham United battles for possession with William Forrester of Stoke City during the Premier League 2 match between West Ham United U23 and Stoke City U23 at London Stadium on February 17, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Burstow/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 17: Xande Silva of West Ham United battles for possession with William Forrester of Stoke City during the Premier League 2 match between West Ham United U23 and Stoke City U23 at London Stadium on February 17, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Burstow/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

West Ham has struggled to come up with anything in attack the past two matches, which should prompt some major changes against Chelsea.

In the Hammers first two matches of the Premier League’s “Project Restart”, West Ham have had to face some very talented squads in Wolves and Spurs, and that will not change as the Irons will face off against Chelsea in the midweek. That being said, the Irons have looked out of sync in the attack, and have not managed to really threaten their opponents in any way.

One of the major reasons the Hammers attack has gone cold is due to a lack of a true striker up top. With Sebastien Haller out, David Moyes has relied on Antonio to assume the role of striker, and while Antonio will work hard and give his all for the badge, the Irons need to mix it up and bring in a true striker against Chelsea. Enter Xande Silva.

The 23-year-old Portuguese striker has yet to play for the Hammers this season but could be the boost that potentially helps the attack against the Blues. Although not much is known about Xande and what he could bring to the table for this match, apparently he has been impressive in training and could really ignite the Irons going forward.

With Antonio in the attack, we already know what the game-plan is. He will try and hold up the play and win set-pieces in dangerous areas. For the past two matches, this plan has failed miserably. The Irons struggled to get any chances against Wolves and Spurs, and Chelsea is around the same level of quality. Something must change.

Next. West Ham VS Chelsea: The Inside Track. dark

The Hammers are missing Haller more than they could ever know. When he returns from injury, there is no doubt he should be leading the attack for West Ham, but for right now, Moyes must switch up the attack to try and get some kind of a result against Chelsea. Giving Xande Silva the nod seems like the right option here.