Why this West Ham man can help Hammers forget Obiang woes

Why this West Ham man can help Hammers forget Obiang woes

Having lost to rejuvenated Premier League champions Leicester City at the weekend, West Ham have been dealt a treble injury blow with Winston Reid and Michail Antonio both facing weeks on the sideline whilst midfielder Pedro Obiang is out for the season.

The Spanish midfielder had been in the form of his West Ham career since the turn of the year, picking up his first goal for the east Londoners in their win over Southampton, whilst also seeing vast improvements to his attacking game having nailed down a starting spot in Slaven Bilic’s starting line-up early in the season.

While the loss of both Reid and Antonio is of course troubling for the Croatian manager, after his fine form Obiang will leave a big hole in the middle of the Hammers’ side. However, there could be just the man waiting in the wings to make the step up and give Bilic plenty to think about come the start of next season.

Swiss midfielder Edimilson Fernandes, who arrived from FC Sion in August last year, is one of just a few summer signings from 2016 which fans at the London Stadium feel has been a good addition so far, along with the likes of Andre Ayew and, increasingly, Arthur Masuaku.



The Switzerland international was brought on to replaced the injured Obiang with around 20 minutes to go in east London on Saturday and was everywhere. The 20-year-old showed a mindset well beyond his years, contriubuting in every area, dropping back when he was needed before looking to get the ball wide or down the channels quickly when going forward.

Fernandes, the cousin of former Manchester City man Gelson, has been limited to just over 500 minutes of Premier League football this season, with just three league starts to his name, however, he has been a regular off the bench and has shown more than enough to hint that he could well be the man to step into Obiang’s boots.

Earlier in the season and this may not have been such a big deal for the summer addition, however, with the growth in stature within Bilic’s squad his midfield peer has experienced this year, filling in will be a considerable challenge.

Obiang may posses a little more in terms of the defensive side of his game, however, when it comes to creative ability, Fernandes matches up with the former Fiorentina man on almost all fronts (in per 90 statistics), and well exceeds him in terms of key passes.

Having been named in the Switzerland squad for their World Cup qualifier with Latvia, the midfielder’s focus will be away from the London Stadium this weekend, however, upon his return Fernandes has a real chance to get Bilic thinking with performances during the run-in, potentially giving him quite the headache when Obiang does eventually return.