West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini has said that Jack Wilshere can be a game changing talent for the Irons after injury curtailed his first season at the club.
The former Arsenal man, who joined the Hammers on a free transfer last summer, has only featured seven times in total for the east London outfit with an ankle problem, which required surgery, keeping him on the sidelines.
Now Pellegrini has thrown his backing behind the 27-year-old ahead of next season, insisting that his talents can bring out the best of those around him.
He told the Sun: “I think he is still one of the most talented players in England.
“I hope in the same way we did when we brought him that he can play one season and that will change everything. Jack is a different player with a lot of quality. He is working now very well.
“The more time Jack has the more attacking team we can be.”
Opinion
This is a bold prediction from the manager over a man who has had injury problems plague his whole career. He has not done an awful lot to prove his worth at West Ham and there will have been many questioning whether he would ever be able to make the grade in east London. Pellegrini has given him his backing as a manager should but there might well be a seed of doubt in the Chilean’s mind as well. This summer is going to be massive for Wilshere, who knows time is running out for him to live up to his full potential, not to mention the expectations of those who were left so excited by his potential as a youngster. At 27, he is no spring chicken and should be operating at the top of his capabilities. If this season is anything to go by, he will not be sticking around as a West Ham mainstay for too long.