West Ham legend Tony Cottee says he is worried by the poor form of midfielder Pablo Fornals since his arrival from Villarreal in the summer.

The £24m signing has flattered to deceive during his appearances for the Hammers so far and has failed to score a goal or provide an assist in his ten league games for the club.

Fornal’s only meaningful contribution came when he got on the scoresheet against Newport County in the Carabao Cup back in August and Cottee thinks it will take time for the player to settle into English football:

“I’m concerned, obviously, because so far he’s really, really struggled with the pace of the Premier League. What I will say is that he’s not alone in that. We’ve seen many players over the years who have struggled to start with in the Premier League.

“I can think of a young Thierry Henry, who I’m sure would tell you himself, found it very, very difficult the first three, four months of his time at Arsenal.”

It doesn’t help that manager Manuel Pellegrini has yet to give the Spaniard a meaningful run in the side. He played three consecutive games against Manchester United, Oxford and Bournemouth back in September but the majority of his match time has come from the bench.

Fornals was overlooked for Robert Snodgrass in the 1-1 draw against Sheffield United on Saturday, and it remains to be seen when he will get another chance in the starting eleven.