Alex King makes his Premier League debut! Will he finally start getting more opportunities?

Alex King has been at West Ham since the summer, but it wasn’t until the end of December that he made his Premier League debut. Will he finally get more opportunities to make a name for himself?

King joined West Ham from Spartak Moscow on the last day of the transfer window on a one-year loan deal. On 22 September, he made his EFL Cup debut in a 1-0 win against Manchester United.

He then made three more appearances in the Europa League. Once for 6 minutes against Genk when he was returning from injury, then he played 26 minutes at Rapid Vienna, and in the last group game against Dinamo Zagreb he stayed on the pitch for the full 90 minutes.

But in the Premier League, the chances were not coming. King regularly sat on the bench every game and did not get into the game. It wasn’t until December 28th that he did.

He came on in the 90th minute of the 4-1 win at Watford and finally marked his debut in the English league. It was also thanks to the absence of Declan Rice, the key midfielder of the Hammers, who was absent due to yellow cards.

That is the main reason why King is not playing. Moyes relies on the proven duo of Soucek – Rice, without whom he can hardly imagine the line-up. If they are both healthy, they don’t even substitute and play the full 90 minutes every time.

And if something happens, like the Rice stopper now, the three for that position is captain Mark Noble. But even the West Ham icon doesn’t get much space because of the reliable pairing, having only started 3 games in the Premier League this season. If King is only fourth in the lineup, it is very difficult for him to get into the lineup.

If he stays in London after his loan spell, he should have a much better chance of making a name for himself. With Noble already announcing last year that he will hang up his cleats after this season, King could move up a tier in the hierarchy. And who knows, if not straight into the starting line-up, as all the English big clubs are circling around Declan Rice.

Source: West Ham United, Livesport