[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]West Ham midfielder Divine Mukasa has been a revelation so far.
The signing of former academy star Divine Mukasa came as a complete surprise to Hammers fans this summer.
Our very own ExWHUEmployee revealed that a medical was booked for a new signing, but no one knew who.
There was a lot of speculation it would be a free agent because nothing had been leaked before we heard this from Ex.
Jamie Vardy was heavily linked at the time, so many people thought it was him, including me, and I was very excited.
However, when we found out that it wasn’t the former England international and it was, in fact, England U20 international Devine Mukasa, I was even more excited.
We have been crying out for an attacking midfielder in this team since Paqueta left, and it didn’t seem like Nuno was interested in buying one, so this was a complete shock.
That, combined with the quality and potential of the player coming in, combined with the fact he was coming back to his boyhood club, meant the fans were buzzing with this signing, and they’ve been proven right.
He looked bright in the 4-1 win over Southampton in the League Cup in the number ten role, but against Watford he didn’t really stand out.
However, it was Nuno’s shift back in formation and trusting Divine to play in a deeper midfield role in a pivot alongside fellow new signing Arne Engels that has changed our fortunes around.
Yes, it hasn’t been perfect, especially in matches away from home, but a midfield two rarely is, as they are usually outnumbered in the middle of the park.
However, both players have really held their own, and Mukasa looks like a complete natural playing a lot deeper than he’s used to.
The first half against Millwall was a disaster, but he was everywhere doing his best to clean up everyone else’s mess. He was our best defender in that first period.
If West Ham want to get more control in midfield, Mukasa needs to stay in. Maybe it would be a good idea to switch to more of a 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 and have either Tomas Soucek or Mo Kante in there too to form a midfield three, especially away from home.
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