The Athletic reporter Roshane Thomas has recently made a claim over the future of West Ham United’s Portuguese attacker Xande Silva.
The Irons sealed the arrival of the 23-year-old winger in the summer of 2018 after they forked out £1.35m to sign him from Vitoria Guimaraes (per Transfermarkt).
In the two seasons since he signed for the Hammers, the youngster has made a paltry two appearances for West Ham’s first team in which he neither scored nor assisted.
For the club’s Under-23s, though, Silva has shown his ability as he has bagged 10 goals and two assists in 12 outings for the academy side.
However, in the latest episode of The Athletic’s U Irons podcast, Thomas cast doubt over the 23-year-old forward’s future at the London Stadium.
He said: “Well, he’s back again but if I’m reading in between the lines, I don’t think [David] Moyes fancies him, to be honest.
“He did play 19 minutes at Wycombe, but he wasn’t even in the matchday squad [on Saturday] against Brentford.
“[He] wasn’t [anywhere] near the bench, wasn’t even at the stadium. According to my knowledge, he’s not injured.
“So, you look at it thinking, he needs to leave because he’s 23 now [and] he hasn’t really played many first-team games.”
TIF Thoughts…
As can be seen in what the journalist had to say, after “reading in between the lines” he believes that the player is not favoured by Moyes and, therefore, he should leave the club.
Should Xande Silva leave the London Stadium this summer?
No, he needs a chance
Yes, he's not good enough
Despite his prolific form for West Ham’s Under-23s, over his first-team appearances with Vitoria Guimaraes, the attacker perhaps proved that he was not all that effective.
In 30 first-team outings for his former club, Silva netted just one goal and did not manage to bag any assists.
So, if Thomas is correct in his assumption that West Ham’s Scottish manager is not keen on the attacker, then perhaps it may be best if he does depart the London Stadium as the journalist suggested.