Having already brought in defender Jose Fonte during this transfer window, West Ham United confirmed their second new addition on Friday night with the signing of Hull City midfielder Robert Snodgrass for a fee of £10.2 million.
The Scotland international put pen to paper on a three-and-a-half year contract with the Hammers and, providing he shrugs off a minor muscle problem, could be set to make his debut against Manchester City on Wednesday night.
Speaking to the club’s official website, the 29-year-old is determined to make an immediate impact in the final third:
“I’ve said at every club I’ve been at that if I can add goals and assists, that’s why I’ve been brought in. If I can continue doing that I’ll have the likes of Andy Carroll, Michail Antonio and Ashley Fletcher on the end of my crosses. When you have that level of player, you put it in the area and they will go and attack it. Slaven said he wants me to bring my attacking flair, which is the way I was brought up as a kid. I was always told to attack but I also have a job to do defending and I’ll work hard for the team. I believe I can bring experience and quality.”
The History
Born in Glasgow, Snodgrass started his youth career at Livingston at the age of 13, before breaking into the first-team as a 16-year-old.
During his five-year stint with Livingston, he scored 15 goals in 79 appearances, while he also had a brief spell on loan at Stirling Albion, netting five times in 12 matches.
In July 2008, Snodgrass joined League One side Leeds United.
During his four years at Elland Road, Snodgrass established himself as one of the most talented players plying their trade outside of the Premier League, and totalled an impressive 35 goals and 35 assists in 166 league appearances.
In the summer of 2012, Snodgrass joined Premier League outfit Norwich City for an undisclosed fee.
He enjoyed a successful first campaign with the Canaries, scoring six goals and registering nine assists in 37 league matches.
The Scot enjoyed another strong season individually in 2013/14, racking up six goals and two assists, although Norwich suffered relegation to the Championship, prompting a move to newly promoted Hull City ahead of 2014/15.
Snodgrass suffered a serious knee injury on his debut for the Tigers, though, which kept him out for over a year.
By the time he returned, Hull were plying their trade in the Championship, although Snodgrass contributed four goals and six assists in 27 league appearances as Steve Bruce guided the Tigers back to the top flight via the playoffs.
Snodgrass has been in superb form for Hull in the first half of this season, registering seven goals and three assists in 20 appearances.
After playing five times for Scotland U20s and U21s, Snodgrass made his senior debut against Northern Ireland in February 2011.
He currently has 21 caps to his name, and has scored six times for his country.
The Prospects
With Dimitri Payet now departed for Marseille, the capture of Snodgrass looks a shrewd piece of business by the Hammers hierarchy to help fill the creative void left by the Frenchman.
In the last few matches, Hammers boss Slaven Bilic has used a 4-4-2 formation, with Michail Antonio playing alongside Andy Carroll in attack, with Sofiane Feghouli and Manuel Lanzini starting in the wide positions.
Feghouli was linked with a move away from the London Stadium at the start of the transfer window, but after featuring prominently in the last two matches, the Algerian now appears likely to remain at the club for the second half of 2016/17.
Bilic has used several different formations this season, though, including 3-4-2-1 and 4-2-3-1 systems, so Snodgrass could be used both out wide and perhaps in a No 10 role, with Feghouli’s place in the side seeming the most at risk.
Looking at the underlying statistics so far this season of Antonio, Lanzini, Feghouli, Andre Ayew and Snodgrass, it’s the Scot who has been the most impressive for pure creativity.
He’s registered a key pass every 40 minutes, better than Lanzini (50.9), Feghouli (78.6), Antonio (86.7) and Ayew (132.8).
Antonio does lead the way for goal attempts, though, averaging one every 32.3 minutes, ahead of Lanzini (44.3), Snodgrass (46.2) and Ayew (48.3) and Feghouli (78.6).
In terms of pricing, Snodgrass comes in at a very reasonable 5.7 and if, as expected, he’s handed the majority of set-piece duties, it seems likely that he’ll continue the displays that have already served up 99 points – just 10 behind the 6.9-priced Antonio.
Nonetheless, the latter does currently offer plenty of potential playing out of position as a central forward.
Snodgrass is likely to remain behind Mark Noble in the pecking order for penalties, though, which is a negative factor given two of his seven goals this season have come from the spot.
However, we should also consider that Snodgrass’ numbers have been produced in a side that has struggled badly in attacking terms.
Hull have just 20 goals in their 22 league outings and, while West Ham have mustered a fairly modest 29, they boast far stronger statistics for goal attempts. Indeed, while the Tigers have created just 14 big chances this season, the Hammers have more than doubled that tally so far (32).
That would indicate that Snodgrass, certainly as a creative force, should have scope to improve on his Fantasy Premier League scoring rates.
West Ham face Manchester City and Southampton in their next two fixtures, so those matches should provide us with insight into how Bilic plans to use Snodgrass, before the schedule (WBA, wat, CHE, bou, LEI, hul) eases for the Hammers.
We can then consider a West Ham attacker as a serious option, particularly as Bilic’s side are guaranteed to face Bournemouth in Gameweek 28 with both sides knocked out of the FA Cup.
Surrounded by “better” players in a side that should produce more goals over the second phase of the season, there’s certainly potential for the 10.1% owned midfielder to take his game to another level.
With the opportunity to scout out Snodgrass in his new surrounds, Fantasy managers are sure to have the Scot in mind as we approach the crucial Gameweek 28 blanks.
With his stock boosted around that period, should he suggest that he can maintain or even improve on his output on Humberside, Snodgrass could emerge as a key asset over the remainder of the season.
