As Robert Snodgrass makes the switch to West Brom, West Ham’s squad continues to shrink even smaller.
The 33-year-old midfielder has joined Premier League strugglers West Brom for an undisclosed fee. Snodgrass has been a key player in the squad and has earned the respect of Hammers fans since joining in 2017. Despite only making six appearances this season, the club will be sad to see the Scottish international go.
The former Leeds and Aston Villa player signed from Hull City for £10.2m three years ago. Since his arrival, Snodgrass has played 84 times for the club, scoring 11 goals and producing 17 assists. He has also featured 28 times for Scotland, scoring seven goals.
The transfer sends Snodgrass to Sam Allardyce’s side on a permanent basis, on a 18-month deal. His current deal was set to expire this summer, hence why West Ham have decided to let him leave this month.
This, however, leaves even fewer West Ham players at David Moyes’ disposal – especially since Sebastien Haller completed his move to Ajax. Now that we have the smallest squad in the Premier League, if we are dealt with any more injury blows we could be in real trouble.
Snodgrass started his West Ham career off slowly and struggled to justify why the club bought him, and was quickly sent out on loan to Aston Villa. However, over time he began to prove himself and quickly turned into one of the most admired players amongst the squad.
His hard work, passion for the game and influence on the team stands out above all but he also puts in decent performances when asked upon. While he may no longer be one of the first names on the team sheet, Snodgrass was a good player to have coming off the bench – especially due to his crossing abilities and set pieces.
Regardless of the board’s reasons to agree to his departure, West Ham must bring in a replacement for him this January. If we fail to do so and get injuries, then our good start to the campaign may be tarnished by a dip in form during the second half of the season.
His weekly salary may clear up space for new players, but given that we are in the midst of a global pandemic – it is looking less likely that we will bring in many replacements.
West Ham should not be selling Robert Snodgrass, as it means we’ve lost valuable cover for the remainder of the season. Despite needing bench players to rely upon, he is also a true professional and always gave his all for the club.
His services will be well admired at West Brom, while Hammer fans wait and hope that we can bring in extra reinforcements before the end of the month.
