West Ham put out a strong first-team in their pre-season game against Angers tonight and fans were blown away by new signing Fabian Balbuena.
The 26-year-old centre-back arrived from Corinthians over the summer for £3.6million and he already looks like becoming a fan favourite at the London Stadium next season.
That would make him one of the bargains of the summer and fans are convinced he’s the real deal after what one fan called a “rock-solid” display on Friday night.
Chicharito was back for West Ham too and he looked sharp as well, scoring the opening goal after 25 minutes.
Balbuena put forward a very strong case for a regular first-team place next season, with a strong 45 minutes. He was replaced by another new centre-back signing Issa Diop at half-time.
The game ended 1-0 to West Ham.
Here are the best reactions to Balbuena’s display from West Ham fans:
Balbuena looks superb , calm, strong, reads the game, good in the air , can ping a ball aswell ?
— Martyn Hobbs (@MartynHobbs12) August 3, 2018
We’ve got some serious players at West Ham ??
Balbuena, Anderson, Wilshere unreal!
Noble and Antonio look different players ??
— Ibby (@ibbywhu) August 3, 2018
Balbuena looks such a good signing especially for what we paid for him
— GarethS (@Steedthehammer) August 3, 2018
https://twitter.com/tictactonyeo/status/1025420628810186752
https://twitter.com/M1tchyC/status/1025430032548806656
Balbuena looks like he has been playing in our defence for years… bargain of the season
— Paul (@Hammer1966) August 3, 2018
https://twitter.com/DaveFoad/status/1025431445073027077
OPINION
Fabian Balbuena looks like he could be one of the bargain buys of the summer. West Ham got him for less than £4million and he’s strolled straight into the team and looks like he’s been there for years. There was one alarming moment when he misplaced a pass and almost let Angers in for an equaliser, but players are going to be a bit rusty in pre-season – that’s what these games are for and one mistake won’t tarnish what was a fantastic overall performance. Like one fan said, he looked rock-solid at the back and several West Ham fans are already claiming him as their signing of the summer. There are a few other players that might have something to say about that, but what we’ll say is that the Pellegrini era already looks set to deliver.