West Ham United boss David Moyes could be left with a very difficult decision to make when it comes to his team selection following news about Jarrod Bowen.
According to a report from David Ornstein at The Athletic: “David Moyes’ side could be without him for a handful of games after the 25-year-old picked up a heel injury in the defeat at Liverpool. Although the club yesterday confirmed that he had suffered no significant damage, this week’s Europa League trip to Sevilla and the weekend’s home game against Aston Villa are likely to come too soon.”
This news will no doubt be devastating to hear, as Bowen has been an integral part of the West Ham United team this season, scoring 12 goals and chipping in with 11 assists, both of which lead the team.
It means that with Said Benrahma likely to take up his normal spot on the left wing, there will be competition for who will start opposite him in Bowen’s place between Nikola Vlasic and Andriy Yarmolenko. Here, we break down the options Moyes has and look at who should start:
Nikola Vlasic
The 24-year-old Croatian has struggled to make it into the side this season, with just five starts to his name in the Premier League – with the rest coming in a variety of cup competitions.
As a result, he’s only managed to bag one goal and two assists this campaign and struggled to put up numbers elsewhere, as he’s averaging just 0.3 shots, 0.5 key passes and 0.5 dribbles per game, although is managing to record a pass completion rate of 81.4% (via WhoScored).
Whilst he is naturally a left-winger, he has occasionally dabbled on the opposite flank at times in his career, so it is possible that Moyes could look to utilise him there in an emergency role for the time being, or put him on the left and switch Benrahma to the right.
Interestingly, Declan Rice also described the Croatian as one of the strongest players he’s ever played with.
Andriy Yarmolenko
The club’s only remaining natural right-winger, the 32-year-old Ukrainian has also found it hard to get a place in the side this season, with none of his seven starts coming in the Premier League, while his contributions haven’t been great, with one goal and one assist to his name.
On top of that, his numbers haven’t been up to scratch when compared to that of Vlasic in the Premier League, as he falls short in key passes and dribbles with 0.2 per game as well as a pass completion percentage of 80.5% and an overall rating of just 6.10, only beating Vlasic in terms of shots per game with 0.5 (via WhoScored).
TIF Verdict…
Who would you start?
Yarmolenko
Vlasic
Whilst it can be argued that it is impossible to replace someone like Bowen in the West Ham side and the impact that he has on the team, Moyes will just have to make do with what he has at his disposal.
And looking at not just the numbers, but also the fact that he appears to be trusted based on the fact that he has started more games under Moyes up to this point in the season, Vlasic may just get the nod in this instance.
However, given Yarmolenko is more naturally suited to being out wide rather than centrally, you wouldn’t be surprised if Moyes decided to put the Ukrainian in there instead.
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