West Ham supporters have been reasonably upbeat in recent times despite seeing their side fail to register a fourth Premier League victory of the season at the weekend.
Manuel Pellegrini’s men went into their clash with struggling Huddersfield Town off the back of beating Burnley 4-2 in their previous league encounter, and thus full of confidence ahead of the trip to the John Smith’s Stadium. Yet the Hammers only earned a point from their efforts in Yorkshire on Saturday, with Felipe Anderson’s second half strike cancelling out Alex Pritchard’s opener for the hosts to secure a 1-1 draw for the East London outfit, in turn stretching their unbeaten Premier League run to three matches.
Thus, there have been many satisfied Hammers fans up and down the country in recent times, several of whom are likely to be intrigued by recent comments from The Guardian’s Simon Burnton, who has identified West Ham’s Fabian Balbuena as one of the most underrated players in the English top-flight.
And in going on to suggest that his addition is proving to be ‘one of the bargains of the summer’, Burnton is absolutely right to laud the impressive West Ham star for the impressive start he has made to life in East London.
Ultimately, Pellegrini sought to improve his defensive ranks during the close season after seeing David Moyes’ West Ham team seriously struggle at the back last time round, shipping a staggering 68 goals in their 38 Premier League matches to finish as the joint-highest conceders alongside relegated Stoke City.
As such, it was plainly obvious that the Chilean had to bolster the defensive ranks if he was to take the team forward, and while the arrival of Issa Diop, and his subsequent fine start to life at the London Stadium, has somewhat stolen the headlines, Balbuena’s efforts alongside him have largely gone under the radar of those who don’t support West Ham.
The Paraguay international made the move to East London for just £3.6 million (as per Transfermarkt) during the summer, but he has since become a lynchpin in Pellegrini’s team in starting all 12 of their league games so far, netting once which came in their 1-1 at Leicester City last month.
And while there are still some concerns with the Hammers defensively, as Burnton points out, given they have kept just one clean sheet so far this term, that shouldn’t detract from a very solid and impressive start from Balbuena, who appears to have formed quite the partnership with 21-year-old Diop in the heart of Pellegrini’s backline.
And the more the duo continue to play alongside each other, the more they will understand each other’s game and become more comfortable as a partnership – Burnton rightly outlines that they have a ‘firm foundation on which to build’.
Yes, there is little doubting that Diop has shone for the Hammers so far this term, and at the age of 21 he appears to have a very bright future in the game, but that shouldn’t overshadow what has also been a fine start from fellow centre back Balbuena, who Burnton rightly acknowledges is proving to be ‘one of the bargains of the summer’.
West Ham fans… what do you think? Let us know!
