West Ham United boss David Moyes wasted the first of his three substitutes in Saturday’s 2-1 loss at Liverpool by calling on Andriy Yarmolenko to play the final quarter of an hour.
Moyes sought to make the first of his permitted changes by introducing Yarmolenko in place of Sebastien Haller, after the Frenchman failed to offer a persistent goal threat in the absence of Michail Antonio with the 30-year-old forced to sit out with a hamstring injury.
But the Scottish coach will only be regretting his decision as Yarmolenko failed to get into the game prior to Diogo Jota striking home from Xherdan Shaqiri’s pass to steal a win five minutes from time, before Said Benrahma and Manuel Lanzini swiftly entered the action.
Pablo Fornals’ second goal of the Premier League season had opened the deadlock for the Irons after just 10 minutes, though they returned to the dressing at the break with the score level after Mohamed Salah won and converted a spot-kick for a clumsy foul by Arthur Masuaku.
Moyes had considered cashing in on any residual value in Yarmolenko this summer, having identified Manuel Pellegrini’s £17.5million signing as someone the east London outfit could utilise in their bid to raise funds for his own incomings.
But a change of heart later in the summer saw the Ukraine international retained, as Moyes decided he liked what he’d seen from the attacker and was keen to keep the £6.75m-rated 31-year-old’s services, per ExWHUemployee on The West Ham Way podcast in August.
The Hammers boss’ sudden change will not have been a total turnaround, though, as Moyes had spoken of his support for what Yarmolenko offers in July after praising the former Borussia Dortmund man’s impact from the bench in their 3-2 victory over Chelsea.
“I’ve had a chance to see Yarma tonight, he gives me good competition,” said Moyes, via quotes by the Newham Recorder.
Moyes should not be feeling the same way as he did in July following Yarmolenko’s ineffective cameo in Saturday’s loss at Liverpool, as the veteran winger used his time in a central role to poor effect with just four passes made from 11 touches, per SofaScore.
He further failed to provide a key pass from either of his attempted passes, failed to register a shot on goal, won just one of four ground duels, lost possession four times, committed one foul, made no tackles, interceptions or clearances and attempted just one dribble.
Moyes will need to think long and hard over Yarmolenko’s place in the matchday squad ahead of next weekend’s London derby clash with Fulham at home, especially now that he feels Benrahma is fit enough to feature following his West Ham debut.
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