A man and two goals down during Saturday’s Premier League derby clash with Tottenham Hotspur, these were not the circumstances in which Soungoutou Magassa wanted to introduce himself to the West Ham United faithful.
But if there are any positives to come out of another heavy loss for Graham Potter’s men, then the £14 million signing from Monaco looks certain to be one of them.
On a night in which Mads Hermansen was exposed once again in the West Ham United goal, while a red card for Tomas Soucek gifted Tottenham a far easier win than Thomas Frank was expecting, there were at least a few green shoots.
Crysencio Summerville and El Hadji Malick Diouf showed glimpses of a genuinely excellent partnership down the left-hand side.
Mateus Fernandes wasn’t quite as impressive as against Nottingham Forest – Carlton Cole called the Portugal Under-21 ace ‘exceptional’ after that 3-0 win – but the ‘different dimension’ Potter talked about was clear to see once again.
And, making his Premier League debut off the bench with 61 minutes on the clock, Soungoutou Magassa’s arrival comes at the perfect time for a club who will be without Soucek for the next three matches.
West Ham United fans impressed by Soungoutou Magassa despite Tottenham Hotspur loss
In truth, the result was pretty much written in stone before Magassa stepped onto the London Stadium turf for the first time.
Former Hammers boss Gianfranco Zola was frustrated to see Lucas Bergvall drift in between Konstantinos Mavropanos and Kyle Walker-Peters, the Swede doubling Tottenham’s lead only seven minutes after Soucek’s removal.
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The silver lining, though, is that West Ham’s brightest performers were once again some of the newer faces in Potter’s roster. While James Ward-Prowse, Max Kilman and co continue to underwhelm, the additions of Fernandes, Diouf, Magassa and the return of Summerville at least gives a long-suffering fanbase something to hold onto.
“What I learned at the London Stadium today,” one fan wrote on X. “Magassa is awesome and should have started, Diouf is amazing, [but] our keeper is too short and he doesn’t make up it up with talent. As bad as the score is, we played well in the first-half. The sending off screwed us.
“Can I say, Magassa looked really tidy all things considered,” another says. “If we’re sticking with that front four, him and [Freddie] Potts as a two sounds nice and balanced
“Magassa looks good.”
“That first 30 mins was good. Everything after that was awful. Magassa looked alright when he came on.”
“He had to start Magassa over ‘JWP’ and [Callum] Wilson over Soucek with ‘Paq Man’ dropping deeper. Potter has lost us this game, not the red card!”
Hammers fans urge Graham Potter to start Magassa during Tomas Soucek absence
The stats from his time at Monaco suggest that Magassa has shades of Moises Caicedo from a defensive standpoint, while also possessing the ability to break lines with eye-catching forward passes.
Only Diouf completed more tackles than him despite the France Under-21 international playing the final half hour, while Magassa also produced a 91 per cent pass completion rate during his time on the pitch.
There was also one excellently-timed intervention to deny Mohammed Kudus a shot at goal. On another punishing evening, at least the returning Kudus didn’t add insult to injury.
Potter now has the ideal opportunity to get Magassa up to speed with English football with Soucek unavailable for the upcoming clashes with Crystal Palace, Everton and Arsenal.
“Drop Ward Prowse for Magassa, play an actual striker, and maybe we have a chance this season,” another fan writes. “Problems go much deeper than that but we’re not looking good either way. Fernandes, Bowen and Diouf our brightest sparks
“Magassa looked decent on the ball.”
“Magassa looks promising and we now have some pace in the squad. JWP as vanilla and ineffective as ever. Soucek’s horrible control and subsequent sending off could turn out to be a blessing.”
“Having Soucek and JWP in a midfield two doesn’t work. I love the bloke, been great for us over the years, but Soucek can’t keep up anymore. He’s 30 paired alongside another 30 year-old. It won’t work in the Prem. Teams are now much younger and much more athletic. Magassa needs to start.”
“On the plus side, Magassa looks an absolute beast.”