West Ham Opinion: Hammers have struck gold with the signing of Pablo Fornals this summer
According to Sky Sports, West Ham have completed the signing for Villarreal’s Spanish international midfielder Pablo Fornals for a fee of
£24 million.
Sky Sports understands that the 23-year-old creative ace has signed a five-year contract with the Hammers, with the option of a further 12 months based on his contribution to the club in the future.
The quoted £24 million price tag means that Fornals becomes the second-most expensive signing in West Ham’s history, only behind Brazilian Felipe Anderson, who joined from Lazio in a £42 million deal last summer. (h/t Sky Sports)
The Hammers were in the hunt for a new creative central midfielder this summer, with reports claiming that manager Manuel Pellegrini had the Spaniard on his radar since January. Fornals was linked with an array of top European clubs but it was West Ham who had the final say in the race to sign the highly-rated La Liga enforcer.
Fornals was an ever-present for Villarreal in the midfield in the La Liga this past season, contributing with 5 goals and 6 assists in 50 appearances across all competitions.
The 23-year-old was one of the key driving forces behind Villarreal’s run to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League last term, as he racked up 3 goals and 3 assists in the competition before his team were eventually knocked out by fellow La Liga side Valencia.
A youth product of Malaga, Fornals rose to prominence with his boyhood club in the Spanish top-flight, breaking into the first-team picture in the 2015-16 season.
Following a couple of decent campaigns with Malaga, Villarreal saw enough talent in the midfielder to pay his buy-out clause in the summer of 2017, and the youngster went on to carve out a massive reputation for himself as one of the best emerging playmakers in the La Liga.
Fornals made an immediate impact in his first season at Villarreal, contributing with 3 goals and as many as 12 assists in the La Liga. His impressive run of form and well-rounded attributes earned him plaudits from scouts across the continent and West Ham should be extremely delighted to have gotten their hands on one of the brightest prospects in Spain.
The midfielder’s feat of breaking into Spain’s national side at the tender age of 20 back in 2016, and that, coupled with his tally 129 appearances in the La Liga for the likes of Malaga and Villarreal is indicative of great quality and character. He already has a lot of top-level experience at the age of 23 and that speaks volumes of his talent and potential as a footballer.
To put things into perspective, it is not difficult to see why West Ham have, indeed, struck gold with the signing of Pablo Fornals this summer. The 23-year-old is regarded as a dynamic and versatile central midfielder and he still has plenty of time left to make significant improvements to his game, meaning that he could possibly be a good short-term, as well as a long-term investment for the club.
In all honesty, the acquisition of a talented youngster like Fornals should do a world of good to West Ham’s squad depth and team dynamics, given that the Hammers needed to bring in some emerging prospects in order to move away from their policy of signing aged and proven players. Also, if Fornals goes on to play a significant role for the Hammers next season, he might as well answer the club’s prayers for a new central midfielder to partner Declan Rice.
Pedro Obiang has been nothing but a liability over the course of his stint at East London, while veteran Carlos Sanchez doesn’t seem to have a future at the club following his long and hard struggles with injuries last season.
Jack Wilshere’s health can hardly be trusted, and while club-captain Mark Noble continues to be a key part of West Ham’s plans, the Hammers need to start looking at someone like Fornals to take over the reins from the veteran.
Essentially a central midfielder by trade, Fornals has the right balance of elegance, creativity, drive and determination in his game to play both central attacking and box-to-box roles in the middle of the park.
While his nimble footwork, eye for key passes, powerful shooting and ability to rip the opposition apart with defence splitting-through balls make him a perfect fit for a No.10 role behind the striker, the Spaniard’s wonderful range of passing coupled with his chaotic nature, stamina, drive and determination also allow him to hold things together for his team and press the opposition in a No.8 deep midfield role.
To be more precise, he perfectly combines the virtues of two former Arsenal midfielders Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey.
Declan Rice, though a really solid presence in the middle, doesn’t offer much in terms of creativity and someone like Fornals could be the perfect man to play alongside him.
The 23-year-old could add that bit of creative spark and X-factor to West Ham’s midfield and his presence might as well get the best out of the likes of Felipe Anderson, Manuel Lanzini and Marko Arnautovic.
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All in all, West Ham can look at the signing of Pablo Fornals as money well spent in the transfer window, given that the 23-year-old could be an excellent long-term solution to their midfield woes.
And, if Fornals manages to make an immediate impact under Pellegrini next season, a Europa League spot certainly won’t be beyond the reach of this immensely talented West Ham unit.
