In a Premier League season where the margins between mid-table security and the relegation zone seem tighter than ever, a decision West Ham United made back in August could prove to be the difference between themselves and the likes of Leeds.
The Hammers climbed out of the relegation zone for the first time in two months thanks to Saturday’s 2-2 draw at AFC Bournemouth.
West Ham’s wait for three successive wins goes on. It is 23 months now since they racked up a trio of Premier League victories on the spin. But seven points from nine heading into December is precisely what the doctor ordered, not to mention Nuno Espirito Santo.
Taking West Ham United’s place in the bottom three, meanwhile, was Daniel Farke’s Leeds.
The former, a team on the up. Resurgent under a new head coach, even if Nuno was indebted to an ‘incredible’ Alphonse Areola at the Vitality Stadium. Leeds, in contrast, are slipping further and further in the other direction. As Nuno tightens his grip, Daniel Farke’s loosens.
And for all the criticism which came the way of the Hammers when Callum Wilson was snapped up on a free transfer two months ago – there were large sections of the London Stadium fanbase who had concerns of their own, it should be said – their gain is proving to be Leeds’ loss in hindsight.
According to talkSPORT in August, Leeds showed an interest in Callum Wilson when his contract at Newcastle expired.
Two weeks later, as Wilson donned the number nine in his new claret and blue jersey, last season’s Championship champions brought in an England international centre-forward of their own.
Photo by Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty ImagesCallum Wilson shines at West Ham United as Dominic Calvert-Lewin struggles at Leeds
To think, Hammers News were told by a source close to the club’s owners that West Ham had turned their nose up at Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Flash forward to the final days of November, and one wonders where the two clubs would be right now had the Hammers signed Calvert-Lewin and left the door ajar for Leeds to snap up Wilson.
According to Fbref, Wilson has four goals this season from an ‘expected goals’ tally of just 2.6. Calvert-Lewin, in contrast, has scored just once from an XG of 2.2.
In short, West Ham’s summer signing has three times as many goals as Leeds’ beanpole centre-forward despite both players being served up a very similar standard of chances.
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Those four strikes have come from four starts, meanwhile. Calvert-Lewin has one from seven appearances in the Leeds XI.
Ironically, the goal which put West Ham ahead at Bournemouth came about via the type of direct, route one approach Farke has been trying to instil at Leeds, in order to make the best of Calvert-Lewin’s beanpole build and aerial presence.
Nuno Espirito Santo credited ‘magnificent’ Callum Wilson at Bournemouth
Alphonse Areola recorded an assist; the first West Ham goalkeeper to do so since Jussi Jaaskelainen in 2014. And, from the goalkeeper’s punt upfield, Callum Wilson ‘magnificently’ swivelled and shot through the arms of an unsuspecting Djordje Petrovic.
“We knew that it is hard to defend these kind of balls,” Nuno said, the visitors playing into the conditions on a wild and windy South Coast afternoon. “Straight, direct, balls, in these circumstances.
“Callum did magnificently.”
Perhaps the most frustrating thing, from a Leeds perspective, is that Daniel Farke would have quite the centre-forward on his hands if he combined the qualities of Calvert-Lewin and his rival for a starting spot, Lukas Nmecha. The presence and physicality of the former, combined with the speed and movement of the latter.
At the same time, Wilson, even at the age of 33, continues to prove himself capable of offering both the mobility and the aggression required.
Wilson is eight goals away from 100 in the Premier League
His 88 per cent shot conversion rate puts Calvert-Lewin [18 per cent] to shame. Of course, Wilson – just eight away from becoming a Premier League centurion – has always been a far more natural finisher than his compatriot. Wilson averages a goal every 2.6 league matches, compared to Calvert-Lewin’s 3.5.
But if Leeds’ acquisition of the latter was borne out of a desire to add an imposing, physical outlet up top, the irony is that Wilson has actually won more ‘offensive duels’ than the former Everton powerhouse.
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A greater outlet out of possession and a far more reliable finisher when the chances arise, it is perhaps fitting that it was Wilson who fired West Ham above his summer suitors. The Hammers, by the way, are above Leeds for the first time since the season kicked off.
“Obviously, we work on aiming for me from a goal kick in that instance. When it came in [from Alphonse Areola], I was able to take it inside on my chest to see the space,” Wilson told the club’s official website when running through his Bournemouth brace.
“Then, when it opened up on a surface like today, when it was a bit wet and zippy, it was about just getting good contact and getting a strike away. It’s so early in the game as well, and I kind of hit it sweet, and it was nice to see it go in the back of the net.
“The 18-yard box is kind of a little office for me where I try and work my magic!” Wilson smiles, his second an instinctive, ingenious flick.
“I think when ‘JC’ [Jean-Clair Todibo] headed it towards me, I was able to just chest it, and it’s an instinctive finish on the swivel, really. In the box, you don’t get much time, you have to hit them early, and I did that, and thankfully I found the top corner.”
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