Cornet’s lively cameo against Chelsea shows he deserves a starting position

Maxwel Cornet rejected offers from Everton and Nottingham Forest to join West Ham United this summer.

The 25-year-old was not short of interest following Burnley’s relegation to the Championship. Cornet joined West Ham due to his preference to live in London with his partner, Melissa, and their children. West Ham’s aspiration to become a top-four team was another contributing factor.

The east London side activated Cornet’s £17.5million ($20.2m) release clause having missed out on signing Filip Kostic, who joined Juventus from Eintracht Frankfurt. When negotiations were underway, Issa Diop spoke to Cornet in positive terms about playing at the London Stadium. The Ivory Coast international signed a five-year contract with a further one-year option.

“He made a big impact with his performances for Burnley last season and he has impressed me with his desire to improve and challenge himself further here at West Ham,” said manager David Moyes when he joined.

The Scotsman is easing Cornet into the team having not had a pre-season at Burnley. The versatile attacker travelled to Portugal for their training camp but they were reluctant to play him to avoid the risk of injury.

Cornet’s late cameo appearance in the unfortunate 2-1 loss to Chelsea last Saturday was a glimpse of what he can offer Moyes’ side. He replaced Pablo Fornals in the 86th minute and, within four minutes, he hit the post and controversially had a goal disallowed.

Moyes said the decision to overturn Cornet’s goal was “scandalous”, but amid the frustration, he would have been pleased with the impact the summer signing made.

Last season at Burnley the winger scored nine goals in 28 appearances. He was voted their footballer of the year and Cornet has already won the approval of West Ham supporters. He showed signs of his offensive flair in the first and second leg Europa Conference League qualifying ties against Viborg, having provided an assist in both fixtures.

Cornet, who can play as a left winger, wing-back or full-back, has registered two assists in five appearances for Moyes’ side. There has been a clamour for him to be involved in the line-up given Jarrod Bowen’s struggles. The England international is yet to score in the league and has only one goal in seven appearances in all competitions.

Bowen played the full match against Chelsea and it is worth comparing and contrasting his touch map to Cornet’s. The winger only had one touch in the opposition box and has only attempted one shot on target in the league this season.

He has been unable to replicate his performances from 2021-22, where he scored 18 goals and provided 13 assists. But with Cornet waiting in the wings, Bowen may soon find himself demoted to the bench.

Cornet had three touches at Stamford Bridge and one of them was inside Chelsea’s penalty area. It is another example of Bowen’s offensive struggles that he and Cornet had the same number of touches in the opposition box, despite the summer arrival being a late substitute.

Cornet’s versatility will benefit West Ham and he has been a goal threat for large spells of his career. He scored 51 goals in 252 appearances for Lyon between 2014 and 2021. He has registered six goals in 29 caps for Ivory Coast and ended 2021-22 as Burnley’s top scorer. Cornet made his debut in the 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest and you get the impression his substitute appearances will become less frequent.

West Ham play Romanian side FCSB in the Europa Conference League on Thursday — and play against Newcastle United on Sunday. Bowen is likely to feature against FCSB but if he plays against Newcastle United, history suggests it may prove to be a good omen for him.

Last season the attacker endured a slow start to the campaign. He did not score in the league until West Ham’s seventh league fixture against Brentford.

Team

Date

Goal

August 15, 2021

Failed to score

August 23, 2021

Failed to score

August 28, 2021

Failed to score

September 11, 2021

Failed to score

September 19, 2021

Failed to score

September 25, 2021

Failed to score

October 3, 2021

Scored

It was a similar situation in 2018-19 when he was at Hull City. Bowen struggled offensively until he scored in their seventh game against Ipswich Town. The upcoming match against Newcastle United will be West Ham’s seventh league fixture and anything but a goal could see Cornet replace Bowen in the line-up.

On current form, Bowen may also miss out on a place in England’s forthcoming Nations League games against Italy and Germany. With the World Cup fast approaching, he will be aware he must quickly improve for West Ham if he wants any chance of going to Qatar.

Although there were mitigating circumstances against Chelsea, Moyes’ side remain in the relegation zone following defeats to Manchester City, Nottingham Forest and Brighton & Hove Albion.

Following the heavy investment this summer, the team need to pick up points to match their top six ambitions.

Moyes gave record signing Lucas Paqueta his first start in the loss at Stamford Bridge and Cornet will feel he too is deserving of an opportunity to showcase his undoubted talent.

(Top photo: Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images)