In praise of Jezza

An unexpected bonus of West Ham's struggle has been the emergence of Jeremy Ngakia. Few of us had heard of him before David Moyes plucked him from the Premier League 2 squad and now he just might have solved a problem position. What was encouraging about his first two matches against Liverpool was that he played without fear, even when up against Liverpool's Robertson, one of the best attacking full-backs in the game, plus Salah, Mane and Firmino. 

Jezza did well again against Southampton and what is becoming apparent is that with his ability to get forward he has added some speed to the side. Accompanied by the arrival of the pacy Bowen and the return to fitness of Antonio and suddenly the Hammers look like a side capable of breaking at speed. Jeremy showed a few signs of inexperience too, such as sometimes holding on to the ball too long, but generally he played with great maturity. 

We still don't know if he's able to cope with the final ten games, but his lack of nerves against Liverpool suggest he could. A new test will come at Arsenal, but it will be fascinating to see how he matures over the rest of the season.