Is it time for the young right-back to get his chance at West Ham United?
West Ham United endured a miserable weekend last time out as they were knocked out of the FA Cup thanks to Will Grigg’s brace for League One side Wigan Athletic.
It was one of West Ham’s worst performances of David Moyes’ reign, and there were very few positives to take from the trip to the DW Stadium.
Pablo Zabaleta will particularly want to forget the trip to Lancashire as the 33-year-old was substituted at half time and replaced by debutant Joao Mario.
Zabaleta, who joined from Manchester City in the summer, has missed just one Premier League game (a 4-1 home defeat to Liverpool) all season for the Hammers.
To be fair, the Argentine has probably played more football than reasonable for someone at this stage of a career. He has also played as a wing-back under Moyes, which is more of a demanding role than he has mostly been used to.
Michael Antonio and Sam Byram have both had their injury problems which has put more pressure on Zabaleta, but Byram, at least, now looks to be over those issues.
Byram has featured in each of the Hammers’ last three games. He is a player who suits the wing-back role better as he is quicker and more of an attacking full-back than Zabaleta.
The ex-Leeds United man is comfortable on the ball and makes positive runs forward to support the wingers, something West Ham have missed given Antonio’s absence as well.
Byram is a composed defender who can do both sides of the game but just needs a run to gain a bit of consistency to establish himself in the Premier League.
All in all, given the fact that Zabaleta may be suffering a bit of fatigue, perhaps it is time for Byram to get a run in the side and show what he can do. From there, he may not look back, with a changing of the guard on the cards.
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