One rarely seen West Ham United player has really impressed Julen Lopetegui since he arrived at the club.
Julen Lopetegui oversaw a huge overturn of players at the London Stadium in the summer, with nine new players arriving at West Ham and 12 leaving.
However, the Hammers head coach has taken longer than expected to get his new-look team up and running.
Before the Ipswich game, the pressure on Lopetegui was intense to say the least.
There was actually talk of Lopetegui getting the sack if results didn’t improve quickly, but he apparently assured the board that he will turn things around.
The 4-1 win over Ipswich certainly bought him some time, but the real test is yet to come, with a nightmarish run of fixtures on the horizon for Lopetegui.
That said, the former Wolves boss does have a really strong squad at his disposal.
And there is one fringe player in particular who has really impressed the Hammers gaffer it seems…
Reason why £3m West Ham player has impressed Julen Lopetegui
Lopetegui seems to have finally settled upon his best starting XI.
However, there are some fringe players who are clearly working very hard behind the scenes to force their way into the team.
And Andy Irving is one of those who is allegedly really impressing Lopetegui right now.
According to a report from The Athletic, Irving has impressed Lopetegui with his work-rate.
David Moyes brought Andy Irving to the London Stadium from from SK Austria Klagenfurt on transfer deadline day, and then immediately loaned him back to the Austrian club.
Sky Sports Austria claimed that the Hammers paid around £3 million to sign the 24-year-old.
Irving recently admitted that he actually had the chance to leave West Ham in the summer, but he remained at the London Stadium in the end.
So could he really feature for the Hammers this season on a regular basis?
Is Andy Irving good enough for West Ham?
I actually don’t believe that the Scot will be at West Ham beyond the end of the 2025 summer transfer window, if I’m being honest.
He’s a decent footballer, but not a great one.
The 24-year-old doesn’t have that so-called ‘special sauce’ needed to make it in the Premier League in my opinion.
Irving does a lot of things solidly, but he just doesn’t grab a game by the scruff of the neck by doing something special.
The Scot is clearly a very hard worker, but is that enough to make it at the very highest level of the game in this day and age?
I don’t believe so, but only time will tell.
What we do know is that West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui has been very impressed by Andy Irving so far. Whether or not that will equate to a Premier League start for the 24-year-old remains to be seen though.
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