West Ham manager David Moyes has admitted he might have given Jarrod Bowen his debut already if it wasn't for the club's challenging fixture list.
The 23-year-old arrived in East London for a £22m fee from Hull City on Deadline Day in the January transfer window but is still awaiting his Hammers debut.
Moyes' side currently sit in the relegation zone, following the 3-3 draw with Brighton, and saw their winter break plans affected by the postponement of the trip to face Manchester City.
Now, their rescheduled fixture falls ahead of another challenging clash against runaway leaders Liverpool, with the Scottish boss believing it's too much of a jump for Bowen to move into the starting line up.
However, ahead of the match at the Etihad Stadium, he admitted that the former Hull man could have been closer to a debut if the Hammers had a kinder fixture schedule.
"From my experience of the boys I've brought from the Championship, quite often they take a little bit of time to settle but there's a clamour from everyone to put these players in," he told Sky Sports.
"I just think it's good to give him a chance to settle in. Obviously, coming to Man City or Liverpool are tough games for a new signing from the Championship to start in.
"From what I've seen of him, I've been really impressed. He's looked sharp, he's looked quick, he's obviously match fit and he's ready to go, so maybe if it was different games I'd be looking at it differently.
"You've got to give boys from the Championship a little bit of time to settle into the Premier League, the speed of it, the tempo, I think it's quite important."
