West Ham United boss David Moyes is expected to see five members of his senior squad away at the 2022 World Cup this month.
In total, six Hammers have been called up to their respective nations for the tournament that starts in Qatar in nine days time. However, that six does include Croatian forward Nikola Vlasic, who is currently out on loan at Torino in Serie A.
When looking at the five actually in the Hammers squad who will be flying to Qatar, not many have been regulars in the Premier League this season. Captain Declan Rice (England) and German defender Thilo Kehrer are the only ones to have reached double figures for starts, with Lucas Paqueta (Brazil) being the only other one of the five to have actually started a Premier League game this season.
READ MORE: West Ham waste golden Carabao Cup chance after Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham exits
The other two are goalkeeper Alphonse Areola and centre-back Nayef Aguerd. Areola goes to France having made nine starts this season, but they have all come in the Europa Conference League and Carabao Cup, having only played in the Premier League as a substitute against Manchester City and Manchester United when Lukasz Fabianski has gone off injured. Moroccan defender Aguerd, meanwhile, has played just three times for the club since his £30million move. Again, all of those outings have been in cup competitions while returning from a long-term ankle injury.
That means that realistically, Moyes is not losing too many key players during this break. Big money was spent on both Paqueta and Aguerd, but with them still both new to English football, it is hoped that both will be better suited to West Ham having come back from the tournament in Qatar.
When West Ham come back, their first league game is on Boxing Day away at current league leaders Arsenal, who themselves have a number of players going to the World Cup.
At present, Arsenal have nine players called up for the tournament, but that number is expected to go to ten on Monday, with Ghana set to name midfielder Thomas Partey in their squad.
Of the ten (including Partey), eight have been among the ten players to have started ten or more league games for the Gunners this season, with Aaron Ramsdale, Ben White, Bukayo Saka (England), Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus (Brazil), William Saliba (France) and Granit Xhaka (Switzerland) all at the competition.
With England, Brazil and France all expected to go far, it means that some players from Mikel Arteta’s squad may not come back from their travels until towards the end of the break, limiting their potential rest period before resuming the Premier League season.
Of countries likely to go far in the competition, Moyes has a potential issue with Paqueta, Rice and Kehrer, although with Paqueta only recently coming back from injury, he could do with minutes under his belt, like Aguerd before the second half of the season.
Considering West Ham’s below-par start to the league season, Arsenal’s list of big-name players at the World Cup could make Boxing Day the perfect time to play against them.
READ NEXT:
David Moyes’ future, Jarrod Bowen’s World Cup place, Said Benrahma - West Ham behind the scenes
West Ham announce December friendly against Premier League rivals ahead of Arsenal clash
The UEFA ranking that puts West Ham above Juventus, Barcelona, Lazio, Roma and Celtic
West Ham player ratings: Pablo Fornals stars as Blackburn Rovers seal penalty shootout win
West Ham confirm major academy change amid Stoke City move as former defender takes new role
