David Moyes is adamant Chicharito has a crucial role to play for West Ham United this season despite admitting the form of other forwards has kept the Mexican out of the starting XI in recent weeks.
The incredible effort of fellow summer signing Marko Arnautovic and energy of Michail Antonio has limited Chicharito to a place on the substitutes bench in the last few games, although the striker did start the FA Cup contest with Shrewsbury Town last weekend.
Rumours of a potential move away from West Ham for Chicharito have circulated this week but Moyes has knocked away these reports, hailing the 29-year-old’s ability.
Chicharito was injured when Moyes took charge of the Hammers, prompting the Scotsman to consider other options up front, but the boss is certain he will need the striker’s knack for finishing between now and the end of the campaign.
Chicharito is a really good player and his finishing ability is as good as there is anywhere...We’ve got very different forward players who I think we will need at very different times in games.
David Moyes
“The form of Marko of Marko Arnautovic and Michail Antonio, at the start, has probably made it difficult,” Moyes said. “When I joined, Javier was injured and we had to go with Marko and Michail up front in different games. They’ve both done really well.
“Chicharito is a really good player and his finishing ability is as good as there is anywhere. He thrives on balls in the box and maybe in a lot of games we’ve not had that service to give him.
“We’ve got players like Chicharito who need supplying in the box. We’ve got Andy Carroll who probably needs to be supplied with crosses. We’ve got Andre Ayew who looks for good balls into feet in and around the box. We’ve got very different forward players who I think we will need at very different times in games.
“We can do with them all being fit so I’ve got options in the games.”
Chicharito and Moyes previously worked together at Manchester United, with the Mexican earning a reputation for scoring important goals from the bench for the Red Devils.
Moyes pointed to the level of competition at Manchester United then and at West Ham now up front but insists he knows Chicharito has the quality to be a regular starting striker for the Hammers.
“At United, Sir Alex Ferguson used to play him from the bench quite a lot,” Moyes recalled. “I was well aware, when I joined Manchester United, that Chicharito would want more minutes. Also, I had Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and Danny Welbeck, to name a few.
“The competition at football clubs is hard, but if you’re a good player then you get there, and Chicharito is a good player."