David Moyes has praised Flynn Downes after the West Ham United midfielder impressed him against Liverpool on Wednesday night.
The Hammers made the long trip north on Wednesday with Moyes looking to secure a shock result at Anfield.
Darwin Nunez headed Liverpool in front in the first half though and that proved to be the winning goal.
Jarrod Bowen’s penalty being saved by Alisson didn’t help and neither did a great block to deny Tomas Soucek from close range.
West Ham trudge back to East London empty-handed but Moyes did see promising signs from Downes.
David Moyes has praised Flynn Downes
There was some surprise when West Ham’s lineup came out and Downes was there in midfield.
The 23-year-old had barely kicked a ball in the Premier League before being thrown into the side against Liverpool.
Downes has shown encouraging progress in the Europa Conference League though and appears to be winning over Moyes.
Downes joined West Ham from Swansea City over the summer, completing his switch to his boyhood club.
Moyes stated in August that Downes needed to do better and hadn’t really knocked on the door for first-team action.
Downes effectively tucked in from the right flank to support the West Ham midfield and Moyes appeared to be impressed.
Moyes told Football London that he just wanted to bulk up his midfield in order to cope with Liverpool’s attacking play.
Downes came in and did well in the eyes of Moyes, who claims that Downes is really ‘starting to get noticed’ now.
Moyes also noted that other players have taken a while to step up from Championship to Premier League, but Downes is faring well in that regard after something of a slow start.
“I wanted to have another midfield player and I thought I needed it with the way Liverpool play,” said Moyes. “I thought he did really well. I’ve had quite a few from the Championship and some have taken six months to be first team players. There’s a lot of things he did well so I’m pleased for him. He’s starting to get noticed now,” he added.
Whether Downes stays in the team for Monday’s game against Bournemouth remains to be seen, but it’s clear that Moyes has warmed to him.
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