For West Ham United fans, perhaps the biggest disappointment of Sunday’s 2-0 London derby defeat to Tottenham Hotspur was how depressingly easy it all looked.
Spurs came into the game on the back of a 4-1 humbling by Leicester and an insipid defeat in Milan. But West Ham, during the second half in particular, made the hosts look competent, comfortable even; mustering only one shot on target throughout.
34-year-old back-up Fraser Forster could have brought his Sudoku book with him to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Unbothered and untested by a Hammers side now just two points off the bottom of the Premier League table.
If only David Moyes had a Filip Kostic at his disposal in North London.
West Ham had a £12 million bid rejected for the swashbuckling Serb before his eventual move to Turin (Fabrizio Romano). And, while producing his ninth assist as a Juventus player during the 2-0 win at Spezia, an under-fire Moyes could only dream of possessing a player with Kostic’s ability to produce something out of so very little following 90 miserable minutes in which the Hammers looked devoid of inspiration and creativity.
West Ham United lost out to Juventus for Filip Kostic
“(Kostic) is a great player,” three-time Serie A champion Massimo Bonini tells Tuttomercatoweb. “He’s good in one-v-ones, he creates a lot of assists, and is now also managing to score goals.
“He is always able to find the right time to cross the ball, despite the presence of defenders.”
Kostic’s ninth assist in Juve colours was typical of the man. All the Serbia international needed was a yard of space to whip an inch-perfect cross into the penalty area. One converted graciously by Everton loanee Moise Kean. It was a trademark moment from a man who made pin-point left-footed deliveries his calling card in the Bundesliga with Stuttgart, Hamburg and Eintracht Frankfurt.
Only Lionel Messi and Thomas Muller produced more than assists between 2020 and mid-2022.
“Unstoppable,” reporter Mario Sconcerti writes for Corriere dello Sera. “Kostic now runs all over the wing, takes up space and vents his strength.”
No one in West Ham’s squad this season has more than assists than Maxwel Cornet’s five this term. A statistic which looked all the more desperate when you consider that the summer signing from Burnley has not played a single game since October due to a serious calf injury.
Kostic, meanwhile, is now just one away from hitting double-figures in the assists column for a fifth straight season.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
