It is viewed as an inconvenience for many when the international break comes around.
However, for Albian Ajeti, having time away with the Switzerland national team could be very important for him now he is at West Ham.
He has little chance of getting much meaningful game time at London Stadium, with Sebastien Haller the main man following his record-breaking transfer.
This follows a campaign in which Ajeti was an everpresent for FC Basel, playing 43 games across all competitions, scoring 21 goals and assisting 11, as per Transfermarkt.
Haller’s presence has restricted Ajeti to just one start since joining the Hammers, which came in the 2-1 Carabao Cup victory over Newport County.
During that game, the 22-year-old didn’t get any of his three shots on target, though he did make two key passes, as per SofaScore – this highlights that he has quality, while likely needs time to adapt.
He hasn’t got a single minute in the Premier League at this stage, though that will surely change now he is the club’s main back-up striker, with Javier Hernandez having departed for Sevilla.
Nevertheless, he will likely have been grateful for the opportunity to get some extra game time under his belt, which the internationals have afforded him.
His first involvement came in Switzerland’s 1-1 draw against Republic of Ireland, though that only offered him four minutes.
What will have been more beneficial is the 90 minutes the 22-year-old played during the 4-0 victory over Gibraltar, in which he got one shot on target and completed 85% of his passes.
While his statistics for the match are not exactly overwhelming, it is good for him to get extra minutes under his belt as he will realistically need to wait until 25th September, when the Hammers face Oxford United in the Carabao Cup, until he starts another game.
