Plenty of West Ham United fans couldn’t believe what they were reading earlier today as Manuel Pellegrini pinpointed Andriy Yarmolenko and Carlos Sanchez as key members of his squad.
Speaking to whufc.com, Pellegrini revealed:
[Yarmolenko and Sanchez] are two important players. [Sanchez] is the only replacement we have for Declan Rice and he is working very hard to recover his performance that he had before his injury.
Sanchez, now 33, hasn’t won supporters over since joining West Ham last summer and doesn’t seem to be of the quality required for the squad to reach the next level.
He, as well as Yarmolenko, made their first appearances of the season from the bench in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Brighton and are likely to be ever-present in Pellegrini’s squads this term.
Fans are less than pleased with the Chilean manager highlighting Sanchez though, with some criticising his decision to sign the midfielder in the first place:
Twitter: @WestHam @carlossanchez6 @Yarmolenko_7 Deluded (@TJCowboyHammer)
Twitter: @WestHam @carlossanchez6 @Yarmolenko_7 Sanchez??? https://t.co/ET908zaZad (@MitchellCottee)
Twitter: @WestHam @carlossanchez6 @Yarmolenko_7 Yarmo maybe, Sanchez? Only mentioning him to try and cover up the awful deci… https://t.co/QhF8SA5kZV (@andybrooks89)
Twitter: @WestHam @carlossanchez6 @Yarmolenko_7 Okay my thoughts on Pellegrini are changing very very quickly. Is he mad, Sanchez!!
(@Mr_BA6)
Twitter: @WestHam @carlossanchez6 @Yarmolenko_7 Manuel is losing the plot (@SpiffingAFK)
READ WEST HAM’S VERDICT
Sanchez should by no means be starting for West Ham week-in-week-out but, in my opinion, he provides *fine* back-up for Declan Rice, whose youthful energy won’t see he miss many games anyway.
It seems like West Ham fans have taken Pellegrini’s comments completely the wrong way. Sanchez is an important member of the squad, but the boss is by no means trying to say he’s the best player at his disposal.
Rice, with guidance from Sanchez and more-so Mark Noble, can transform into a top-class defensive midfielder and it seems unfair to doubt Sanchez without really giving him a chance.
