Jack Wilshere’s career is set for another crossroads in the coming weeks after West Ham confirmed they have terminated his contract.
The England international was set to leave the London Stadium at the end of the current campaign, after two injury ravaged seasons in East London.
The Hammers were well aware of the level of risk involved in signing Wilshere ahead of the 2018-19 campaign, with Arsenal finally admitting defeat in their fight to keep him fit on a consistent basis.
However, the possibility of bringing him on board on a free transfer from the Gunners was seized upon by Manuel Pellegrini as a win-win situation for the club. The Hammers manager pushed for a three-year deal for Wilshere and got it despite reservations from the board who only wanted to hand him a 12-month contract.
But despite initial positives that his long-standing injury problems were behind him, following a sustained rehabilitation programme and lifestyle changes, including taking up a vegan diet, Wilshere’s West Ham career was a disaster from the start.
His injury record under Pellegrini, and latterly the returning David Moyes, has worked out as worse than his average injury record with Arsenal, sitting out a total of 53 games in two seasons.
An ankle injury picked up inside his first month at West Ham subsequently required surgery and he played a grand total of 80 minutes of Premier League action at the back end of 2018-19.
The 2019-20 campaign began with more positivity as he was able to complete a full preseason for one of the first times in his career, and he started the season at the heart of the Hammers midfield.
But despite appearing injury free, there were growing concerns that his body had simply taken too much punishment and his ability to complete a full 90 minutes was seriously questioned.
The start of last season arguably defined his time at West Ham, more than the chronic groin injury which eventually curtailed his campaign in October 2019.
Pellegrini lost faith in him, and he did not complete a full Premier League game in the entire season, with his last top-flight 90 minutes coming way back in August 2018, ironically away at Arsenal.
The drive and verve to break out of tight situations in midfield, bounce through tackles and drag his teammates on with a swagger had deserted him.
His man of the match performance for Arsenal against Barcelona in 2011, his key role in Roy Hodgson’s England side and all that high praise from the great and good of European football seems light years away now.
Injuries have obviously played a huge role in Wilshere’s decline and his struggles to become a consistent Premier League name, but the mental weight of expectation has arguably proved to be a bigger barrier than a dodgy ankle.
Wilshere’s sporadic spells of full fitness have demonstrated exactly how the attrition of constant injuries can wear away at a player’s confidence and grind out those ‘unteachable’ talents that catapult them into the Premier League limelight.
The mental blow of being released by Arsenal provided another layer to that, and potentially jinxed his West Ham career even before a ball was kicked.
The cheeky chappy caricature has worn away, as Wilshere has matured both on and off the pitch, but the old adage of too much too young forced him too hard at the wrong time.
A departure from the London Stadium was a foregone conclusion at the end of 2020-21, and the decision to release him early will shock few Hammers fans.
Wilshere’s next move will define whether he can salvage a deserved next stage to a career that promised the world as a teenager.
A drop down into the Championship is likely to be mooted in the coming weeks, however, Wilshere could be well advised to avoid the pressure of another tag weighing around his neck at a less high-profile club.
The noise of the Premier League also does not seem to be the right fit either, as it will simply be a sideways move, with the same pressures and criticisms levelled at him.
His formative years at the Emirates Stadium were dominated by Arsene Wenger’s famous ‘Spanish technique, English heart’ comments, and the Frenchman’s quote could now guide Wilshere.
A move away from a Premier League which has taken more than it has given Wilshere could give him a platform to at least enjoy his football again and offer a late career reminder of what a talent he is.
