Fabian Balbuena has not played a Premier League game for West Ham United since Manuel Pellegrini’s side were battered by Manchester City.
It’s a proud day in the life of Fabian Balbuena.
For the first time, the West Ham United defender is captaining his country, leading Paraguay out for their friendly clash with Japan on Thursday.
Balbuena has represented the South American nation on 11 occasions since making his international bow in 2015 but he has never worn the captain’s armband before – until now at least.
The 28-year-old, who joined West Ham in the summer of 2018 for £6.5 million according to Sky Sports, is no stranger to a leadership role. He was the skipper of Brazilian giants Corinthians before moving to the London Stadium, even winning the Serie A title in 2017.
And Balbuena thrived alongside young Issa Diop under Manuel Pellegrini with his big-game experience offering the young Frenchman some much-needed guidance during a testing first few months in English football.
Game time has been hard to come by in his second season in the capital, however, with Balbuena left on the bench for all three games since that humiliating opening day thrashing against Manchester City.
Angelo Ogbonna has replaced him in Pellegrini’s starting XI though Balbuena can at least take some consolation in knowing that he’s still valued very highly by his country.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
