The Mexico legend’s time with the Hammers looked almost up but his two-goal salvo at Newcastle has surely given Manuel Pellegrini food for thought.
Many West Ham fans were delighted when Javier Hernandez signed for the club in the summer of 2017.
Chicharito is a forward with pedigree, having played for the likes of Manchester United, Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen – not to mention being Mexico’s all-time record goalscorer.
However, the 30-year-old’s time at the London Stadium so far has been far from sensational, coming in and out of the starting XI following his recovery from an injury in November 2017.
All in all, Hernandez started just 19 games in all competitions last season, according to Transfermarkt.
It was widely expected in some quarters that the Mexican would get more game time under new manager Manuel Pellegrini, but this has not materialised.
Prior to Saturday’s game against Newcastle, Chicharito had only started two league games for the Hammers this season and had just one goal to his name.
Hernandez also incurred the wrath of some West Ham fans just last week after telling Spanish outlet Marca that he was open to a January move away.
However, Pellegrini opted to start the ‘Little Pea’ against the Magpies and was rewarded handsomely, the forward scoring a brace en route to a 3-0 victory.
Hernandez is the archetypal fox in the box – a tweet by stat page Squawka pointed out that all 48 of his Premier League goals have come from inside the box.
Pellegrini, however, tends to favour a 4-3-3 with a lone striker, which means that the player selected needs to be more physical and get involved in hold-up play – which isn’t really Chicharito.
But judging by how well the Mexican magician – and by extension the team – did on Saturday when playing to his strengths, there will be plenty from his manager to ponder in days and weeks to come.
After all, if a winning formula has been stumbled upon, why change it?
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