It wasn’t the perfect start to Nuno Espírito Santo’s tenure at West Ham United on Monday night, but it wasn’t far off.

The Portuguese manager’s first game in charge saw the Hammers take on David Moyes’ Everton, and while they fell behind in the first half, they rallied, equalised in the second 45 and could have gone on to win on another day.

However, while it’s not quite as important as the team’s fightback, the coach’s decision to leave James Ward-Prowse back in London suggests he’s ready to make significant changes to the team.

However, there is another member of the squad who isn’t good enough and should be left out, just like the Englishman, going forward.

Why Ward-Prowse's time is up under Nuno

West Ham paid Southampton around £30m to sign Ward-Prowse in the summer of 2023, and aside from a few good performances here and there, and the odd free-kick, it’s a move that can only be described as a disaster.

The former Saints star is not agile, powerful, or quick enough to play as one of the team’s two central midfielders, but at the same time, he has not shown enough in-game creativity to start in the ten, especially not when Lucas Paqueta is still at the club.

The Portsmouth-born ace has been so lacklustre since his move to London Stadium over two years ago that he was sent on a season-long loan to Nottingham Forest, only to be sent back halfway through the campaign, having made a grand total of ten appearances, six of which were starts.

Now, some may claim that with a new manager through the door, all of the players who struggled under Graham Potter should be given another chance, but unfortunately for Ward-Prowse, it was Nuno who refused to play him at the City Ground.

Perhaps the best example of why the 11-capped international has to be moved on as soon as possible are the statistics from his last game for the club.

Minutes

90′

Goals

0

Assists

0

Touches

61

Accurate Passes

41/48 (85%)

Crosses (Accurate)

5 (1)

Shots on Target

0

Ground Duels (Won)

6 (1)

Aerial Duels (Won)

3 (0)

Lost Possession

14

Fouls

3

Dribbled Past

2

For example, in the game against Crystal Palace, he misplaced four of five crosses, lost eight of nine duels, was dribbled past twice, lost possession of the ball 14 times, and committed three fouls.

In other words, Ward-Prowse was, and is, a liability for West Ham and therefore, should ideally be sold in the winter window, alongside another player who has consistently failed to impress in East London.

The West Ham player who has to be dropped with JWP

The unfortunate reality for Nuno is that, while West Ham do have a number of quite brilliant players in the squad, they also have plenty who should be moved on as soon as possible.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

One of those who, unfortunately, falls into the latter camp is Konstantinos Mavropanos.

The Greek defender joined the club from Arsenal in the summer of 2023, and once again, while there have been some impressive moments here and there, he’s largely failed to live up to expectations.

We can see this in his underlying numbers.

According to FBref, he ranked in the top 6% for interceptions in the league among centre-backs last season, but just the top 35% for tackles, the top 56% for shots blocked and the bottom 23% for passes blocked.

In other words, the numbers back up the eye-test, and while it might sound harsh, they lend credence to the claim from journalist Tom Rennie that the 27-year-old is “nowhere near Premier League quality.”

A new manager didn’t make a difference either, as the former Stuttgart ace failed to prevent Michael Keane from opening the scoring on Monday night, despite initially being well-placed to do so.

Now, if there were no other options in the squad to replace him, Nuno might be forced to persevere with the Athens-born titan, but he has summer signing Igor Julio and Jean-Clair Todibo to choose from.

Ultimately, West Ham should look to sell Mavropanos and bring in a replacement in the winter window, as, like Ward-Prowse, he is not good enough to play under Nuno.