West Ham United have a lot of players but only so many spaces to fill.
West Ham United may not have had a transfer window as impressive as last year, but Hammers manager Slaven Bilic still strengthened in key areas.
The club now have a very impressive squad, meaning some of their fringe players could struggle to get significant game-time in the months ahead.
One such player is Pedro Obiang, who will have no doubt been devastated to see West Ham eliminated from the Europa League having made four appearances (including three starts) in that competition earlier this season.
That was arguably the Spaniard’s only decent chance of getting regular minutes on the pitch and he now looks set for a prolonged spell on the bench at best.
The 24-year-old featured 37 times for West Ham in all competitions last season, but his league outings came predominantly from the bench and with more competition for places this time round that could be a challenge in itself.
Such are the demands of a long hard Premier League campaign that Obiang could still be used in time. However, he should get used to being little more than a bit-part player, with too long in that role likely to warrant a departure in 2017.
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