The West Ham United defender has been brilliant even during the club’s struggles.

West Ham United have had a tough start to the new Premier League season, with some of their summer signings struggling to make an impact from the outset and some of their more familiar faces under-performing for a while.
But one player whose book they should take a leaf out of is Pablo Zabaleta, who arrived at West Ham on a free transfer and has set about earning the role of fan favourite with a string of impressive performances.

The 32-year-old knows the Premier League like the back of his hand from his time at Manchester City, for whom he played 333 times, and his presence has been vital for the Hammers as some of their other experienced heads have flattered to deceive.
Most notable among those are Mark Noble and Aaron Cresswell, and the pair should take inspiration from Zabaleta, who is older than both but delivering performances of a man considerably younger.

West Ham ultimately enjoyed a relatively successful transfer window, but despite bring in Joe Hart, Javier Hernandez and Marko Arnautovic, it could be an early free transfer that ultimately goes down as their best of the bunch.
An ever-present in the league for West Ham this season, the Argentine has no intention of letting his quality drop, and the sooner that rubs off on some of his Hammers teammates the better.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
