The Premier League these days is very much a League of Nations; the days of an all-English or British first eleven are long gone. West Ham have followed suit. It’s a fact that many struggle with the rigours of our league and every success seems to be matched by a failure.
This season we have signed a player that has a fabulous pedigree but has yet to set the Premier League alight. The player in question is a certain Spanish International who goes by the name of Carlos Soler Ballagan.
On his loan deal signing for the Hammers, Carlos said: ‘I’ve spoken to Pablo Fornals and he has told me that this club is one of the biggest in the Premier League.’
Well I love Pablo but I think he has exaggerated that a little. Fornals spent nearly five years in the claret and blue and is a rarity in that he was a longstanding Hammer born in Spain.
Only nine other Spaniards have played a league game for West Ham. Most were here for just a season with Adrian and Fornals the only exceptions. So what of our new Spanish import? Well, how can you analyse the impact of a player who has yet to start a league game, and has just four substitute appearances to his name?
It’s difficult and I find it frustrating as I really believe he could be the new Payet or a replacement for Paqueta. If I look at Soler’s football history, it seems that he has excelled when at a smaller club because PSG seemed to be a step far for him, at least for the moment.
At his first club, Valencia he was adored and a real talisman. He played a total of 182 times for the Valencia first team scoring 34 times mainly as a free flowing midfielder. He has played on the right but his defensive abilities can be limited. His four appearances for the Spanish National team has also led to a decent goal tally, scoring four times.
He had grown up at Valencia and it took a fair bit of persuasion to take him to PSG. At Valencia he was a big fish in a medium pond, but at PSG, with a big transfer fee, on his back, he joined at the same time as Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz and Renato Sanches, an absolute glut of talent.
He failed to make an impact which meant that PSG were up for a sale. It’s not exactly that they had no options when looking around to off load Soler. In the Premier League both Brighton and Aston Villa came calling as did Real Sociedad and Valencia back in Spain. To see him arrive at the London Stadium seemed to some a real coup.
However not all saw it this way. Some have questioned the signing and stated that as we had James Ward Prowse in our ranks, did we really need Soler? Also although his goal tally looks pretty good, many were from the penalty spot. Even our manager Julen Lopetegui has stated that Carlos would have to prepare himself for the physicality of the Premier League, not exactly an endorsement.
Carlos may even be rusty in that although he had played 50 times for PSG over the last two seasons, many of those appearances were as a substitute where he had difficulty making an impact in a team of midfield superstars.
There really does seem to be two camps, those who love the player and those who have little time for him. Speak to any Spanish fan and they revel at his performances at Valencia, a local boy done good.
Let’s not forget that PSG paid close to twenty million euros for the midfielder, maybe a small figure for them but still a significant amount. There is no confirmed deal at the end of the season so Soler really has to prove himself here in east London.
It’s going to be a big ask as our own midfield at times looks a little crowded and the question has to be asked, and is being asked by many, where will he actually play and who will he replace? During his start at Anfield at the cup, we saw some flashes of real skill but as the game went on and the result became inevitable, he was seen as expendable.
I would have liked him to have stayed on for the full 90 minutes rather than be substituted. He needs match practice. The game was already beyond us and so I saw no reason for the substitution.
Our club can make or break a player’s career. Lingard, during his loan spell at the Hammers, was an inspiration, but sadly he got too big for his boots. As for last season, we saw Kalvin Phillips join and the less said about that the better.
Is Soler this season’s Kalvin or Jesse? We will have to see. I believe we have yet to see the best out of Carlos and I fully expect him to shine.
He has to learn from his mistakes at PSG and rather than sit back, he needs to prove himself to the manager who will then hopefully play him in his preferred position. I’m on Soler’s side but the clock is already ticking on his career at West Ham. His enthusiasm showed at Anfield when he interacted with the crowd.
Fornals and Adrian made West Ham their home. Let’s hope that Carlos does the same.
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