Slaven Bilic has already seen Dimitri Payet leave and he is risking losing another star player because of his team selection.
Slaven Bilic said goodbye to star man Dimitri Payet in January
The Hammers have rescued what was threatening to be a disastrous season with improved performances and results since the turn of the year.
The club was dumped out of the Europa League in qualifying and then the EFL Cup and FA Cup while they also found themselves in the bottom three.
Some pundits and fans feared the worst when the club then lost Payet in January.
But his departure galvanised the team and Bilic’s side now find themselves in midtable.
While Payet forced a return to Marseille for family reasons, the Hammers could risk losing another of their best players should Bilic continue to play influential midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate out of position.
Kouyate is a victim of his own versatility but has been used in central defence and more recently right back for most of the season.
While the popular Senegalese clearly puts the team first, he is comfortably one of the club’s best players.
It has been frustrating for fans to see him used at right back of late.
And many supporters feel Kouyate is wasted when not being used in the midfield engine room where his lung-busting runs and tackling are so crucial.
He also usually weighs in with a number of goals which the Hammers have missed this term.
Cheikhou Kouyate is vital to Bilic’s side
West Ham fans feel Sam Byram would be a better option to release Kouyate back into midfield even if Bilic does not rate the former Leeds United man as is suggested by his reluctance to use the 23-year-old.
Kouyate cost West Ham a bargain £7.5million from Belgian side Anderlecht back in 2014 and the club’s bitter rivals Spurs had a bid turned down back in 2015 with the Hammers asking for Harry Kane in exchange.
Should Kouyate grow tired of being played out of position there would be clubs queuing up for his signature.
Bilic should use the last 11 games to show him just how valued he is by playing him in his preferred role, starting at Bournemouth this Saturday.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
