David Moyes wants West Ham United defender Kurt Zouma to make 2022/23 the most prolific campaign of his career after the defender scored in Monday’s 2-0 Premier League victory over AFC Bournemouth, speaking to the Hammers website.
Considering Zouma’s aerial ability – and the quality of the deliveries provided by the likes of Jarrod Bowen and Aaron Cresswell – there’s no real reason why West Ham’s France international cannot become a semi-regular source of goals in claret and blue.
That flicked header against Gary O’Neil’s Bournemouth – one that gave the hosts a 45th minute lead – was only his second in 44 West Ham games.
Moyes, however, is demanding more from a player who scored five times during his final season at Chelsea.
Kurt Zouma scores rare goal in West Ham United’s 2-0 AFC Bournemouth win
“I want Kurt to get half a dozen goals,” Moyes admits. “We’ve been pretty good at set pieces the last few years. We’ve maybe not quite reached the heights yet (this season).
“I don’t know if that’s teams defending better against us. Certainly, our deliveries haven’t been as good. But I thought tonight our deliveries were a bit better, which gave us a chance of scoring.”
Craig Dawson’s impressive tally of nine goals in the last two-and-a-bit seasons is an indication of how useful even central defenders can be in the final third, especially when they are plying their trade for a side who pride themselves upon fantastic set-piece deliveries.
Since the start of 2020/21, West Ham have scored no fewer than 30 times from set-piece situations.
Monday’s 2-0 victory over Bournemouth lifts the Hammers into tenth place; the lively Said Benrahma smashing home a stoppage time penalty to seal three confidence-boosting and well-deserved points.
“That is the quality Said has got,” beams Bowen at full-time. “His one-v-one ability, creating things. He was a real bright spark. t was a brilliant penalty to make it 2-0 as well. Said was brilliant tonight. I am so happy for him.
“The win is massively important. The position we found ourselves in the last few games hasn’t been great.”
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
