West Ham fell just short of fielding the walking wounded last night as a horrendous injury crisis essentially forced David Moyes to start anybody who could boast something near a clean bill of health upon welcoming Crystal Palace to the London Stadium.
Forced to fit square pegs in round holes, Chiekhou Kouyate was pushed up into attacking midfield to support Javier Hernandez and right-back Pablo Zabaleta moved across to the engine room. But that, in turn, made room for a young player who has shown glimpses of promise during an inconsistent two years with the Irons – 24-year-old Sam Byram.
Touted as one of English football’s most exciting prospects at Leeds United, the distrust of Slaven Bilic and injury problems have halted Byram’s progress in east London. In fact, last night marked the Englishman’s first Premier League start of the season, but you wouldn’t have known it from his performance.
Indeed, Bryam – who Transfermarkt value at £4.05million – was a real force for the Hammers at right wing-back both offensively and defensively, evident enough from the fact he created the most chances, completed the joint-most crosses, won the most tackles and made the most interceptions of any Irons player. And even more tellingly of how consistently influential he was, no West Ham player had more touches of the ball throughout the ninety minutes.
That leaves David Moyes facing something of a headache for West Ham’s trip to Brighton on Saturday. Pablo Zabaleta has been arguably the Irons’ most consistent performer this season, but Byram has really staked a claim to retain his place at right wing-back for the weekend.
That being said, Zabaleta certainly didn’t let himself down in midfield last night either, so perhaps the current setup can be maintained for West Ham’s next game. In any case, a positive selection headache in any position right now is a much-welcome change from clogging gaps with square pegs in round holes.
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