Soungoutou Magassa hasn’t had the easiest start to life at West Ham.
The first time I saw him in the flesh, I was sitting in the front row at the London Stadium as he came on as a substitute. It was Graham Potter’s last game as West Ham boss — the defeat to Crystal Palace — and to say Magassa was off the pace would be an understatement.
Quite frankly, the £19m signing from Monaco looked awful. I was aware he’d played as a central defender earlier in his career, and he certainly looked like one: clumsy, uncoordinated, and second to everything. His cameo against the Eagles was as bad as anything I’ve seen in the last two seasons.
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However, some players simply need time to adjust to the pace of the Premier League — and that seems to be the case with Magassa. With every passing minute since that shaky showing in Stratford, the young Frenchman has looked progressively better, and against Liverpool he genuinely impressed me.
Given the occasion of Billy Bonds’ passing, I had assumed every West Ham player would be fully committed and energetic against Liverpool… alas, that wasn’t quite the case.
But Magassa delivered exactly the kind of shift, attitude, and desire the moment demanded. He showed real fight and spirit, and that’s before even mentioning his passing and tackling, both of which were spot on. He was extremely unlucky to receive a yellow card for what looked like an impeccable sliding challenge.
So as West Ham head to Old Trafford on Thursday, I have no concerns whatsoever about Magassa starting in midfield alongside Freddie Potts and Mateus Fernandes. In fact, I’m actually looking forward to it.
