Written by: George M.

There was a huge buzz of excitement around the club when West Ham forked out £24 million for the young attacking midfielder, Fornals, from Villarreal. Between Fornals signing for the club and playing his first game, us fans could take a glimpse of our new signing at the under-21 European Championship back in the summer. Fornals was one of the standout players for the Spain team who were the eventual winners of the tournament. West Ham fans were licking the lips at the prospect of seeing Fornals in claret and blue. Fast forward to December 2019 and it can be safe to say we seem to have been sold short. Fornals has struggled to adapt to English football. The arguably hefty fee used to sign him didn’t help his cause as week in week out he would often go missing on the pitch.

However, in recent weeks, Fornals has started to show up in matches. Albeit he has no set the world alight in these games but there has been a different side to Fornals. The first week we saw this change was the Chelsea game in which it was obvious that someone had spoken to him about his work rate. Although most of players worked their socks off in that 1-0 win it was refreshing to see Fornals putting a proper shift in for once. His hard work was eventually rewarded when his pass to Creswell led to the only goal of the game.

The game in midweek saw the Hammers travel to Wolves. We all know the result of the game, but this was another match in which Fornals was a noticeable figure on the pitch. In the first half, Fornals linked up well with Anderson which resulted in Fornals testing Rui Patricio with a great effort from on the edge of the box. Obviously, every West Ham fan wanted the effort to result in a goal, but not only would this have levelled the scores, this would have given Fornals a well-earned boost of confidence. Alas it was not to be, and Patricio pulled off a great save. For the remainder of the match West Ham were poor. The team really struggled trying to even string a few passes together. However, the most notable West Ham attack in the second-half came when Fornals, a few meters off the half way line, turned and lofted a long ball over the heads of the Wolves’ defence and picked out Snodgrass in acres of space which ultimately, well… the less said about his effort the better. The takeaway point of that moment in the game is that Fornals produced an excellent pass which should’ve resulted in an assist. This sort of passing is something we were yet to see from Fornals, but it was a breath of relief to see his confidence rising to attempt passes like that.

Fornals is still only 23 years old which means time is very much in his hands. At this age, many footballers thrive on confidence. This is especially the case for Fornals. He finds himself in a new country and a new league. Confidence is a huge part of how he plays, and it is starting to show in his performances. Let’s hope he continues to work hard because if he does, us fans are sure to back him and encourage him and by that, we could see the best to come with him.