Is Mark Noble’s successor rotting on the Hammers bench? Quite possibly I think.
Havard Nordtveit joined on a free transfer from Borussia Monchengladbach last summer but has found that first-team opportunities are hard to come by, making only 17 appearances since his move from Germany.
The former Arsenal youth player was a regular in the side early in the season, playing a holding midfield role in the Europa League qualifiers and started the first two Premier League games of the season but soon lost his place due to Pedro Obiang’s fine form.
In the midst of West Ham’s latest injury bug, Nordtveit, who had found himself on the outside looking in during the Autumn, playing just seven minutes of football in October and November, was shunted into right-back and he started four games during December and January at the position but failed to make an impact in a position he’s not comfortable with.
A lot of fans hold the defeat at Tottenham against him after coming on as a late sub to see out the game before giving away a penalty at the death which Harry Kane slotted away and gave Spurs the win.
But is the Norway international really that bad? I’m not so sure. During his six seasons with Borussia Monchengladbach, he made over 150 appearances for the German club and was even made captain of the team. He has Champions League experience, which only a handful of players can say in the current Hammers squad.
More importantly, Nordtveit is a central midfielder and has to be given a chance in his natural position, given that Pedro Obiang, the midfield maestro is out injured for the rest of the season and Noble will now miss two games after picking up his 10th booking of the season.
West Ham fans will be sick of hearing about the number of players who have been used at right back this season, with Nordtveit being one of the those.
The central midfielder has waited patiently for his chance and I do believe that he could fill in well for Pedro Obiang. After all, it seems that Nordtveit will be moved on in the summer, but will he be given one last chance to prove himself?
He’s not featured since January 2nd, a 12-game run and has seemingly fallen out of favour with the coaching staff but perhaps he could be handed a reprieve at Sunderland. You never know, these last games could help us see that Nordtveit can perform on the big stage, but he has to be given a chance where I think he may be able to shock a lot of fans, let’s hope so.
