Pundit Frank McAvennie has U-turned over a "wonderful" West Ham United player, after originally calling his signing a "stupid" one by manager David Moyes.
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The east Londoners, over a mixed start to this new Premier League season, have sealed impressive results against the likes of in-form Brighton and big-spending Chelsea but appeared to fall by the wayside in their most recent domestic encounter against Aston Villa. Moyes' 4-1 defeat away to Unai Emery attracted real criticism, especially given the hapless nature of West Ham's defending at times.
Overall, West Ham have won four, lost three and drawn two in the league. However, they've only reigned victorious once in their last five games domestically. That is a record Moyes will be keen to rectify and very quickly, as he seeks to build upon the club's historic Europa Conference League triumph at the back end of last term.
That being said, there are certain members of the Hammers starting eleven which have stood out as real success stories so far. Jarrod Bowen, who recently signed a new contract at West Ham, has been absolutely excellent alongside summer signing James Ward-Prowse. The latter has been called one of the bargains of the summer, with Sky Sports pundit Micah Richards praising the "amazing" midfielder recently:
“I’ve banged on about Ward-Prowse now for so long and nobody was taking me seriously," said the Sky pundit.
"I was literally saying, he’s in a struggling team that don’t have a style of play and once he goes somewhere where he can express himself more, he’s got more than just taking free-kicks. He’s a comfortable footballer.
“When he’s played for England he’s not really took his chance so everyone sort of questions is he good enough for the highest level. But he is. He’s an amazing player."
There's also been praise for Lucas Paqueta by McAvennie, but the former West Ham striker has now moved to admit he was very wrong about one player who hasn't even started that many games for Moyes this season.
McAvennie U-turns over "wonderful" Benrahma
Irons midfielder Said Benrahma, who's made seven league appearances for West Ham, but mostly off the bench, possesses just one assist to show for his efforts so far this season. The Algeria international, signed from Brentford in 2020, has racked up over 140 appearances all competitions over his spell at the London Stadium, scoring more than 20 goals and bagging nearly as many assists.
A tricky dribbler, the ex-Brentford star can be easy on the eye when at his very best, with McAvennie praising Benrahma for his contribution overall – admitting he was wrong to call his signing "stupid".
“At the time I thought it was stupid because there was a young player everyone was raving about in the exact same position, and they sold him and brought in Benrahma and I’m thinking really," said the pundit to West Ham Zone.
“But he proved me wrong, he’s a great talent, a wonderful, wonderful talent. So it just shows you David Moyes knows what he’s doing.”