Amid a disappointing start to the season that sees West Ham head into the weekend inside the bottom three, David Moyes should turn to Maxwel Cornet to help solve their blunt attack.
With five defeats in their first seven Premier League fixtures, the Hammers have just four points from a possible 21 and hold the division’s joint-worst attack with just three goals.
Moyes has tended to switch between Said Benrahma and Pablo Fornals on the left flank while Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen have tended to hold down the other two positions in the front three.
Cornet, meanwhile, has been limited to just 52 minutes of Premier League action and has been used heavily in the Europa Conference League as Moyes shuffles his pack.
The Ivory Coast forward arrived from Burnley for £17.5m deal this summer, having scored nine goals in 26 Premier League games for the Clarets last season.
Since his switch to the capital, the 26-year-old has already registered five assists in Europe and despite being on the pitch for 12 minutes against Chelsea, he fired into the net after a mix-up between Edouard Mendy and Reece James, only for it to be ruled after a controversial VAR decision.
Hailed as an ‘exciting’ player by former Leeds striker Noel Whelan, Cornet averaged 0.46 goals per 90 minutes last season in the top flight.
It’s a tally that would have seen him rank first at West Ham ahead of Jarrod Bowen in that particular metric for the east Londoners (0.36).
The 29-cap Ivory Coast ace has looked lively, despite restricted game-time since his move to the London Stadium, averaging 0.73 expected goals per 90 in the league, with Tomas Soucek second with 0.19.
Given that Fornals has only managed one goal – a deflected winner over Aston Villa – and no assists in his seven domestic appearances, while Benrahma is failing to have as much an impact off the bench, starting Cornet must be on Moyes’ mind as they look to solve their issues in front of goal.
