In Focus: First-class Fornals can fire Irons to glory

Through to the knockout phase in Europa League and competing for a top-four spot in the Premier League, West Ham have certainly picked up where they left off last season.

The East Londoners have enjoyed a fine campaign so far — and key to their success has been Spanish attacking midfielder Pablo Fornals.

The former Villarreal man, 25, might not grab the headlines like team-mates Michail Antonio and Declan Rice.

But a total of six goal contributions this season puts him just two behind Cristiano Ronaldo and level with Tottenham star Heung-Min Son.

Ahead of West Ham’s clash with title-chasing Chelsea, we take a look at Fornals' rise to prominence and how he is helping the Irons fire at home and abroad. 

Breakthrough

Born in Castellon, just a few miles north of Villarreal, it was at the Estadio de la Ceramica that Fornals would get his first chance in football.

He spent five of his junior years with the Yellow Submarine before returning to Castellon.

The Spain international was then spotted and approached by Malaga while with his hometown team and, aged just 16, swapped the Costa del Azahar for the Costa del Sol in 2012.

After biding his time in the reserves, Fornals was handed his senior debut for the Boquerones by Javi Gracia in September 2015 — starting in a goalless draw with Real Madrid.

To this day, Fornals still messages Gracia on every anniversary of that match, such was the significance of the occasion to his career trajectory.

Malaga’s young maestro

Fornals never looked back after making his debut but it came during a difficult period for the club.

By 2015, Malaga’s Champions League quarter-final appearance two years earlier was a distant memory — their star names had departed and the Andalusian side had been banned from UEFA competition for debts accrued under the ownership of Qatari businessman Abdullah bin Nasser Al Thani.

What this presented was an opportunity for the then 19-year-old Fornals to shine, with very little expectation placed upon him.

He would go on to make a total of 27 appearances in his debut LaLiga season, scoring his first goal in a 2-2 draw away at local rivals Granada.

The playmaker’s performances continued to improve in his first full campaign, scoring six times in 32 appearances and playing a total of 2,666 minutes — the third-highest by an outfield Malaga player.

Fornals’ stock was rising, especially after being handed his senior international debut in May 2016 by Vincente del Bosque.

A low buyout clause presented a relatively risk-free gamble for many of the country's bigger clubs — but it was Villarreal who took a chance and their former academy player was heading home.

Starring in yellow

The midfield maestro’s departure to Villarreal was not without complaint in Andalucia.

Former Malaga coach Michel Gonzalez took to Twitter to complain about the decision to let him leave.

He said: "Pablo leaves us, another one, he said goodbye with his honesty and usual humanity — crying from sadness and not happiness. There must be a reason."

But despite signing a five-year contract, Fornals would don Villarreal’s iconic yellow kit for just two seasons before he was on the move once again.

Across all competitions, he featured 96 times for Villarreal, netting on nine occasions and assisting a further 19 goals.

Former Malaga sporting director Mario Husillos, who by now was with Manuel Pellegrini at West Ham, had been keeping a keen eye on his progress — and Fornals made the £24million move to East London in June 2019.

Breaking the mould

Under the leadership of Pellegrini and Husillos, the Hammers were guilty of spending a lot of money with little to show for it.

Expensive duo Felipe Anderson and Sebastien Haller were both unsuccessful acquisitions, while other arrivals like Lucas Perez and Jack Wilshire also flattered to deceive.

Fornals was deployed in several positions during Pellegrini’s tenure — including on both flanks and in a deeper midfield role — so it is perhaps unsurprising it took until December of his first season to score a league goal.

But despite a slow start to life in England, Fornals has begun to prove he is more than capable of competing in the Premier League under David Moyes’ tutelage.

After all, his first two seasons in England saw him contribute an impressive total of 10 goals and 10 assists in 76 appearances across all competitions.

Strength to strength

At one stage, Fornals was West Ham's second most expensive signing of all time — and that is proving to be money well spent.

This season is shaping up to be one to remember, with the Spaniard playing a starring role.

His 1.65 chances created per 90 minutes is second only to Antonio at the club, while he has also not been afraid to throw his weight around — ranking fourth for the East Londoners when it comes to total tackles per 90 (1.8).

Importantly, the club's No8 feels at home in the capital.

Earlier this season, he said: "The songs, this sign when they see you in the street, the bubbles — it’s something you don’t experience anywhere else."

One thing to have eluded Fornals so far in his career is a trophy. 

But you would not rule out the West Ham star securing domestic or European silverware with Moyes’ men this season.