COMMENTARY
It is about time for the West Ham faithful, who have finally been able to see Xande Silva in the flesh for the Hammers’ first team. The summer signing was impressing for the under-23 side in the early stages of the season and looked set for a senior promotion before injury left him watching on from the sidelines for a number of weeks. Back to full fitness, the 21-year-old got his first team call up against Fulham in the middle of December and had been an unused substitute for the last three games before coming on against Burnley on Sunday. He might not have been able to change the game as the fans, as well as manager Manuel Pellegrini, would have liked but it is still evidently an exciting time for the Irons. This will no doubt be the first of many appearances the young striker makes and 2019 looks to be an exciting year for both club and the player. The next milestone? He will be hoping to find a way onto the score sheet from the bench before targeting a first start. That could well come in the FA cup in the new year, but with the likes of Andy Carroll, Javier Hernandez and Marko Arnautovic battling for a start it will not be easy.
This is Futbol has gathered a selection of the supporters’ tweets:
https://twitter.com/JoshuajWebb18/status/1079409923937705984
Well on to 2019…
Tough day out today but hopefully it’s just a one time blip that we can move on from. We’re 11th and still within striking distance of 7th.
And a congrats to Xande Silva on his debut!
— West Ham Yank (@TheWestHamYank) December 30, 2018
I’m keen to see Xande getting more of a run out
— West Ham Community (@WHU_Forever) December 30, 2018
https://twitter.com/WanziniSZN/status/1079405934944964614
https://twitter.com/Ciaran_WHUFC/status/1079404527860756480
https://twitter.com/jeremiahhjoshua/status/1079403626894974976
Would’ve started silva today seems decent
— Arun (@ArunWHU) December 30, 2018
https://twitter.com/RemyWhu/status/1079403421508227073
Not the best way to introduce Silva ? feel for him
— Danny Boy? (@Hammer_Dan3) December 30, 2018
Glad to see X Ande Silva make his debut. Even the kit man is having an off day. #WHUFC #COYI
— canadahammer (@canadahammer) December 30, 2018