On-loan West Ham star receives red card

Before the massive 4-1 win against Ipswich Town, West Ham were struggling to score goals in the attack and a large section of the Hammers fans were wondering whether the club should have made some more reinforcements in the attack. On the other hand, agreeing several season long loan moves on the final day of the transfer window also raised questions about the squad depth in Julen Lopetegui's West Ham. One of those moves included sending James Ward-Prowse on loan to Nottingham Forest and signing Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Carlos Soler on a loan move as his replacement. 

Last season Ward-Prowse contributed in eighteen goals for the Hammers, with most of them coming through set-pieces in his debut season at the club. In the Fulham and Brentford match, Julen Lopetegui's side struggled to create a lot of good chances from the open play, but received a good amount of set-pieces. These matches highlighted the need for a set-piece specialist such as Ward-Prowse, who excelled in giving a great delivery inside the box which made West Ham a good set-pieces scoring side under David Moyes last season. 

On-loan West Ham star receives red card

While set-pieces are one of the biggest strengths of the 29-year-old, the Nottingham Forest midfielder lacks pace and physicality, which is hugely important in the Premier League. Recently, Ward-Prowse's struggles with pace were highlighted again as the box-to-box midfielder received a red card for a foul on Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson, who attempted to take advantage of Ward-Prowse's mistimed first touch and make an advancing run to give Chelsea the lead. Although the match resulted in a 1-1 draw, Ward-Prowse's defensive mistake displayed why the Hammers preferred a more athletic and all-round midfielder such as Carlos Soler. 

Moreover West Ham have registered a huge 4-1 win at home in the Premier League before heading into the international break, which will be a huge momentum boost for Julen Lopetegui's side. Also, Niclas Fullkrug is expected to complete a prolific front three for West Ham after recovering from his injury in the next few weeks.