OPINION
If you mentioned that West Ham had an eight cap international on their books that fans had not seen play for their side once this season, the London Stadium faithful might be left scratching their heads.
The man in question is of course Swiss international Edimilson Fernandes, the 23-year-old swapping east London for northern Italy as the Irons shipped him out to Fiorentina on loan for the current campaign.
With 28 appearances for the Serie A side to help them to a mid-table place with two games to go, he has been constantly developing on the continent and with the Premier League season now over, manager Manuel Pellegrini might take this chance to run the rule over the loanee ahead of the summer.
According to journalist Sam Inkersole on Football.London’s question and answer (14:26) Pellegrini’s plan is to give the midfielder a chance to prove his worth in the off-season and as a box-to-box midfielder with bundles of energy, he could prove his worth as the missing link at the London Stadium.
Declan Rice is a brilliant but limited defensive midfielder and with the industrious but creatively lacking Mark Noble alongside him, there needs to be some dynamism brought in to make the difference.
That is where Fernandes comes in – able to shuttle between the two boxes for 90 minutes, his ball carrying ability will help in transitioning from defence into attack, while his combative capabilities means he will not be afraid to do the dirty work.
There has been talk of a hunt for a midfielder this summer but Pellegrini would be wise to give Fernandes the chance to demonstrate how much he has come on as an individual – some might wonder what sort of impact he would have had this year had he stayed.