West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini is set to fast-track 22-year-old attacker Xande Silva into the first team, according to Football Insider.
He is seen as an effective solution to West Ham’s short-term problems after striker Javier Hernandez left and Michail Antonio suffered a long-term injury.
Silva is said to have impressed Pellegrini in the Under-23s, despite only making two appearances for the Hammers first-team so far.
Silva’s only senior West Ham start to date came in the 2-0 FA Cup win against Birmingham in January.
He is currently recovering from an emergency bowel operation but should be playing again in a month’s time.
Attacking woes
New West Ham signing Sebastien Haller has looked the real deal since his arrival in the summer.
He’s already scored three goals in three Premier League games, including a brace against Watford. And, according to stats site WyScout, he’s currently running at an xG of 0.69 for the season over 90 minutes, and hitting the target with over 80% of his shots.
He’s winning half of his 10 aerial duels per 90 minutes too and, as well as scoring himself, is opening the game up to other West Ham players.
However, behind Haller, Pellegrini only has 22-year-old Albian Ajeti to call on up top and is in need of reinforcements after Hernandez’s exit and Antonio’s injury.
TiF tactics – Is Silva the answer
22-year-old Silva is a winger but, like Antonio, can play in the middle as a striker too.
The Portuguese player has scored seven in nine appearances for the Under-23s but has little senior experience, with just one goal in 30 appearances for Vitória Guimarães prior to his £1.35m move.
However, Pellegrini obviously has faith in him and will be looking for an impact from the youngster ahead of the January transfer window.
Silva is a player who likes to run with the ball at his feet. Through his career, he’s got a near-80% pass success rate and takes on five dribbles per 90 minutes [WyScout]. However, an xG of just 0.15 suggests that Pellegrini will need to see a big transformation if Silva is going to be the answer to his immediate problem.