West Ham United midfielder Jack Wilshere was one of Manuel Pellegrini’s first signings this summer.
West Ham beat off a lot of competition for Wilshere this summer, with Pellegrini bringing in the midfielder from Arsenal.
Wilshere could go down as one of the bargain buys of the summer, if he goes on to fulfil his potential at the London Stadium.
And Wilshere claims that one of the reasons why he picked West Ham is because he was given assurances of a starting role.
“The manager told me the formation he wants to play and the position he wants me to play and that’s one reason why I wanted to be part of it [here at West Ham], because I want to be an important player,” Wilshere revealed.
“He made it clear that he sees me as an important player and it’s down to me to perform in training and perform week-in, week-out to stay in the team.
“It all depends on formation, and I don’t want to give our formation away! It’ll be either deeper or as a number ten. I’ve said before that I like playing deeper but, if we change formation, there will be one or two deeper and one or two going forward, and I don’t mind sitting deeper or going forward.”
New Arsenal boss Unai Emery was not prepared to offer Wilshere the same promises over game time as Pellegrini, which is what caused his departure.
Wilshere now needs to prove that he can stay fit at West Ham, over the course of the season.
The Hammers have a host of injury prone players at the club already, and Wilshere’s track record of staying off the treatment table is poor.
Wilshere could start alongside either Mark Noble or Pedro Obiang if he is to play a deeper role in West Ham’s midfield.
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