West Ham manager David Moyes was forced into a change in the 52nd minute of Saturday’s 1-1 with Manchester City when Michail Antonio signalled he needed to be replaced.
Having hooked home a spectacular opener in the 18th minute to give the home side a 1-0 lead, Antonio stretched his goalscoring streak to 11 since lockdown and the resumption of football. Only Harry Kane with 12 has scored more in that time.
Antonio was his usual bustling, annoying, combative and energetic self as he gave Ruben Dias and Eric Garcia a rough time in the City defence. Dias couldn’t get in front of the striker as he swept home the first goal of the game, Antonio’s strength easily holding the expensive Portuguese defender at bay.
Antonio was running City ragged but after one of his trademark sprints, appeared to just slow up a little and all of a sudden he was not moving as freely. Taking no chances, David Moyes took the striker off.
All expected Sebastien Haller to replace Antonio but Moyes thought differently, bringing on Andriy Yarmolenko instead. That saw Jarrod Bowen move into a central position with Yarmolenko stationed, as always, on the right hand side of the front three.
It was a move that surprised many with the Ukrainian preferred to the £45million club-record signing, who is having a tough season in the Premier League. He has yet to start a game, has scored just once off the bench and in fact has only played 50 minutes of Premier League action so far this season.
Quarter of an hour after Antonio was forced off, it wasn’t working with Bowen through the middle so Haller belatedly came on. He played 21 minutes which is the second most he has accrued all season in the Premier League, only just behind his 23 minutes of action on opening day against Newcastle.
Expecting Haller to play the Antonio role is not going to happen. Haller has shown throughout his stay in east London that he is more than competent with holding the ball up and bringing others into play but that, seemingly, is not how David Moyes wants his team to play. While it is not the most pleasing football we have ever seen, the current setup the Scot has is very effective for the players he has at his disposal.
It was well heading towards the EFL transfer deadline that Moyes wanted to sign striker Josh King from Bournemouth but was eventually persuaded to go for Said Benrahma instead. King is more in the Antonio mould, not as strong or as bullish perhaps, but can play that role better than, say, Haller.
After scoring seven goals in his debut campaign and starting pre-season on the goal trail, there were high hopes for Haller this season. However, Antonio’s form has - rightly - kept the Frenchman firmly on the sidelines in the Premier League.
Moyes’ switch to a back five has also hindered Haller as it relies on Antonio often running the channels in behind the opposing back four, or counter-attacking with Antonio with the ball at his feet and running at defenders.
With Antonio facing a scan on his hamstring injury this week, Moyes will be waiting anxiously for the results and will be hoping the striker is fit for the trip to Liverpool on Sunday. Even with Antonio potentially out, that doesn’t mean Haller automatically comes into the lineup.
Yarmolenko often plays up front for his country and Bowen has taken on the mantle, albeit briefly, for the past two matches when Antonio has come off. He plauyed through the middle on occasion for former club Hull City, too.
West Ham are at a crossroads with Haller. Do they try and cash in on him in January to fund a move for a striker more suited to the formation? Or do they persist and keep the Frenchman as backup but knowing that they can’t get the best out of him unless Moyes raidcally alters direction? If Antonio goes down, Haller is the only natural striker remaining
Time will tell but by the week, Haller’s value in terms of a transfer fee and also on the pitch is diminishing.
