If reports are to be believed, we’re on the verge of signing Valencia winger Sofiane Feghouli on a free transfer.
So as part of our Football Manager 16 simulation series this summer, we thought it’d be interesting to see how well he’d get on at the club on the game.
Our previous two featured goal machine Carlos Bacca and Premier League flop Michy Batshuayi, but how do you think Feghouli got on?
Read on to find out…
The best possible start…
Like the previous FM16 experiments, West Ham are made to start in the Europa League in the first qualifying round instead of the third, but Feghouli plays a huge role in firing us to the group stages – two goals and five assists to be exact.
We draw Villarreal, Dimano Zabgreb and Slovak First Division side Trencin. Not a bad group.
Feghouli’s impact in the qualifiers has fans convinced his arrival on a free transfer is one of the bargains of the season.
Rewarded…
Much like the impact Dimitri Payet had for us last season, Feghouli stars. However, he doesn’t have as big an impact as Payet.
That said, his performances are good enough for the club to offer him an improved contract mid-way through December, which also included a £33million minimum fee release clause.
It’s clear Bilic sees him as a key member of his side.
Injury strikes…
But in such typical West Ham fashion, injury strikes.
At the beginning of December a back strain picked up training forces the Algerian to be sidelined for four weeks, though West Ham lost just two of the eight games he’s injured for in the time.
But not long after his return, a hip injury (another training injury) leaves Feghouli out for two months, and West Ham suffer a slump of recording just two league wins in that time as well as being knocked out of the Europa League by Schalke.
West Ham’s Season…
So with Feghouli effectively being ruled out for three months during a busy period of the season, West Ham struggled for form throughout and were forced to settle for a reasonably acceptable finish of 9th in the Premier League…
As mentioned before, having qualified from our Europa League group as runners-up, Schalke knocked us out in the 1st knockout round on away goals – we won the first leg 3-1 at home but lost 2-0 away.
Our best cup run came in the FA Cup, where we made it to the semi-finals at Wembley – but a 114th minute goal from Sergio Aguero saw Man City break our hearts.
Liverpool knocked us out in the third round of the Capital One Cup on penalties.
Feghouli’s Stats
The 25-year-old got his West Ham career off to an exciting start, but two long term injuries prevented him from having as big an impact as first anticipated.
The Algerian still made 40 appearances in all competitions, contributing six goals and seven assists…
His more detailed stats included 20 key passes, 2.91 completed dribbles per game and 14.37 completed passes per game.
To Conclude…
Feghouli has never been a huge goalscorer and it’s obvious that had he not suffered two long term injuries, he probably would’ve enjoyed a far more successful season.
However, six goals and seven assists in your first season in English football isn’t to be sniffed at and the decision to give him a new five year deal would no doubt prove to be a crucial one if we were to continue to the simulation in to a second and third season.
Rating – 7/10
You can read all our previous FM16 experiments by clicking the players names below…