West Ham United will be hoping for a major turning point in their season once they return to action from the 2022 World Cup break.
Following Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Leicester City at the London Stadium that saw the Hammers drop to 16 th in the Premier League table and just a point clear of the relegation zone, David Moyes’ side will now not be in action for another six weeks.
With West Ham going into the break off three straight home defeats in all competitions and four defeats in five in the Premier League, the break will benefit Moyes’ side in some ways, giving the club time to work on tactics and to give players a rest, having already played 24 competitive matches in all competitions.
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As we take a look at the break, here are five Hammers players who could well benefit from the break.
Nayef Aguerd
Moroccan centre-back Nayef Aguerd made his long-awaited Premier League debut off the bench in the defeat to Leicester, replacing the injury Kurt Zouma shortly after James Maddison opened the scoring.
The £30million arrival has had to wait for his chance in a West Ham shirt, missing over three months of action after picking up an ankle injury in his second pre-season friendly against Rangers.
After outings against Silkeborg, FCSB and Blackburn Rovers in recent weeks, Aguerd has finally made his first appearances in a West Ham shirt and will now look for a regular run of games when Morocco take on Croatia, Belgium and Morocco in Group F of the World Cup.
By the time Aguerd returns from the World Cup, regardless of how long Morocco are in it for, he will have got more minutes under his belt against some of the world’s biggest names and it will speed up the process of getting him ready for the Premier League.
Maxwel Cornet
Winger Maxwel Cornet has missed the Hammers’ last 12 matches with a calf injury sustained on his full league debut for West Ham against Wolverhampton Wanderers on October 1.
The left wing position had been up for grabs in the opening months of the campaign after inconsistent showings from Pablo Fornals and Said Benrahma, leading to Cornet getting his chance.
Benrahma seems to have the position nailed down for now, but with Fornals in good form in front of goal and Cornet expected to be back after the World Cup, Moyes may find himself with the dilemma all over again.
Considering West Ham’s issues in front of goal all season, a fully-fit Cornet may be able to help West Ham’s issues in that department.
Gianluca Scamacca
Italian striker Gianluca Scamacca is the club’s top scorer with six goals in all competitions so far this season, but he has struggled to score in recent weeks, going nine matches without a goal since scoring for a third match running against Fulham last month.
Injuries elsewhere in the team and a brief absence of midfielder Lucas Paqueta appeared to hamper his form, with two of Scamacca’s last three goals being set up by the Brazilian playmaker.
Although he has withdrawn from international duty due to a minor muscle injury, Scamacca now has plenty of time to rest after playing 16 times for club and country since the start of September across all formats.
With a couple of friendlies against Cambridge United and Fulham pencilled in, it may give Scamacca a chance to return to form before the Boxing Day trip to Arsenal.
Lucas Paqueta
Like Scamacca, big-money summer signing Paqueta has shown promise for West Ham, but his quality and consistency has been hit and miss.
Just as he was getting into form and a good rhythm, an unusual collarbone injury sustained in last month’s draw with Southampton led to the midfielder missing five games in a row, it disrupted his rhythm and adaption to English football, despite being joint-top for assists this season alongside Cornet.
The Brazil star is at the World Cup with his country and is likely to be a regular in Tite’s side’s campaign as they aim to become the first nation to ever win the competition six times.
In a star-studded squad littered with some of the Premier League’s biggest names and Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar, a good rhythm of games with his country could lead to him getting back to his best.
Jarrod Bowen
Hammers winger Jarrod Bowen had the heartbreak of missing out on the England squad for the World Cup, the former Hull City attacker will now be desperate to return to his best form in the second half of the season.
While Bowen is the joint-second top scorer in all competitions at the club this season with five goals and joint-top in the Premier League, just two goals and zero assists in 15 league games has shown that he is currently falling way short of his best possible form.
Like Scamacca, a break and some friendlies may benefit Bowen, who has played in 21 of West Ham’s 24 matches, including starts in all 15 of their Premier League matches.
As one of the most used players so far this season, a reset may be exactly what is required to get him back to his best.
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