West Ham fans have taken to Twitter to savage Pablo Fornals for his performance against Manchester United on Sunday afternoon.
The Spanish midfielder endured a torrid afternoon in the 2-0 win over Manchester United, a result that came courtesy of a first half Andriy Yarmolenko strike and a sublime Aaron Cresswell free-kick.
But despite taking all three points, many Hammers fans still saw fit to chastise their summer signing for a fairly turgid outing.
To be fair, their ire was justified.
Fornals looked tired and slow from the early stages onwards, and as his afternoon progressed, he looked less and less ready for a regular Premier League starting spot.
In fairness, had Manuel Lanzini been fit, he almost certainly wouldn’t have been given the nod against United, but after spending £24 million on a player, you would hope that he could hit the ground running a little quicker than Fornals has.
Here are some of the best tweets from fans.
Fornals is just way too slow & lethargic. Needs to adapt quick time
— Danny Boy? (@Hammer_Dan3) September 22, 2019
https://twitter.com/RickyD_09/status/1175765357019193349?s=20
The most frustrating thing about watching Fornals is that there is clearly a player in there.
Last year for Villarreal he averaged 1.7 shots on goal and 2.2 key passes per match in the Europa League, as per Whoscored, and he took that form to the next level at the U21 European Championships over the summer, registering 2.4 shots and 1.8 key passes, as well as hitting two goals and an assist in three starts at the tournament.
Understandably, that is the sort of player that the Irons thought they were snapping up over the summer, and the hype that surrounded his capture reflected that.
But ever since he has arrived in England he has gone off the boil. One fan said he is “just way too slow and lethargic. Needs to adapt quick time.” Another said, “Hope we kept the receipt”.
The Premier League is generally played at a frantic pace compared to Euro leagues and while some players take to it straight away, others struggle.
Fornals has been disappointing.
— Tangham (@tangham7581) September 22, 2019
fornals again……dosnt want to commit or go for it ? soo frustrating #WHUFC #WHUMUN
— C C ? (@col1981) September 22, 2019
So far this season he has averaged just 0.8 shots and 0.2 key passes per game, as well a meagre 0.6 successful dribbles, as per Whoscored.
The obvious argument is that he needs time to settle, and that is true, but even with that concession in mind, the level of performance that the 23-year-old is offering up at the moment is simply not good enough.
After two ratings in the 8s earlier in the summer for the Spain Under21s, Fornals hasn’t recorded anything in the 7s or above for West Ham. [WhoScored]
Unless he can pull his finger out soon, he could be destined for a very long and potentially futile battle to regain supporters’ affections.
I thought that Fornals was a world beater when i saw him in the U23 euros for Spain. Looks slower than me in Premiership. Both Villa on monday and today
— Phillo, (@FilobeddowPhil) September 22, 2019
https://twitter.com/jamiewhusteele/status/1175766342508716036?s=20
https://twitter.com/Supagrova1973/status/1175765688079851521?s=20