Will West Ham United’s new mid-season additions Pablo Felipe and Taty Castellanos finally open their Premier League accounts against Burnley on Saturday?
Even if the answer is ‘no’, Nuno Espirito Santo still heads to Turf Moor knowing that his Hammers frontline finally has a bit of mobility, a dash of aggression, and work-rate by the bucketload.
Neither Pablo Felipe nor Valentin ‘Taty’ Castellanos have scored a top-flight goal yet, with three and four Premier League starts under their belts respectively. What the £47 million duo have lacked in end-product though, they have arguably made up for in other departments.
Just how IMPORTANT is this Burnley match for West Ham? 🫨
The very definition of a ‘six-pointer’
Captain Jarrod Bowen hailed Pablo and Castellanos’ impact following the 3-1 victory over Sunderland. Their output ‘especially without the ball’, Bowen indicated, has made a big difference to a side who previously had to rely on Lucas Paqueta leading the line as a false nine, or Niclas Fullkrug’s lumbering anonymity.
Nuno, though, knows that he cannot expect his two marquee January additions to provide the attacking thrust and the defensive support for a full 90 minutes.
Nuno Espirito Santo knows West Ham United must protect Pablo Felipe and Taty Castellanos
Speaking during his pre-match press conference on Thursday afternoon, Nuno accepts that both Pablo and Castellanos will need a rest at times, such is the energy they tend to expend. The problem, though, is ensuring West Ham’s gameplan does not fall apart without them.
Nuno accepts that introducing Max Kilman at Stamford Bridge was ‘probably a mistake’ – the much-maligned defender replaced Pablo when the Hammers were 2-1 up, and they went on to lose 3-2 – so he heads to Lancashire looking for ‘other solutions’.
Photo by Izzy Poles – AMA/Getty Images
“It’s impossible [to play with this intensity for 90 minutes], not only Taty and Pablo,” Nuno said. “We have to realise that playing away from home the way we did in the first-half [against Chelsea] took a lot of energy out of us.
“I’m thinking about the next solution which can help us and get us through the games.”
Nuno made similar errors against Bournemouth and Brighton towards the end of 2025; taking off his attacking outlets, introducing an extra defender, and inadvertently giving up the initiative.
The Hammers have now lost a staggering 18 points from winning positions this season. Almost as many as they currently have on the board.
Nuno expects a ‘tough game’ against Scott Parker’s Burnley
Nuno does have the luxury of selecting Callum Wilson, still the best finisher at the club, either from the start or from the bench at Burnley. Adama Traore could be a real difference-maker off the bench too.
Wilson staying, Traore signing, and the dual additions of Pablo and Castellanos at least means Nuno has far greater attacking depth at his disposal these days.
If you were Nuno, which of these players are you calling up for Burnley?
A Disasi debut? A Wilson re-call? Tell us what Nuno must change
West Ham go into the weekend’s fixtures knowing that, if there is a winner in the Friday night clash between Leeds and Nottingham Forest, they can move to within three points of safety with a victory at Turf Moor.
“It’s always going to be very tough,” Nuno warns. “Burnley are a good team fighting for the same objective as us, at their home. A tough game.
“We played them here at the London Stadium [a 3-2 win in November], and it was very, very hard. We know we just have to look at the message of Scott Parker and Kyle Walker; they say they are going to react and we have to be ready for that.”
“[Other results] we cannot control. We have to focus on ourselves. What’s happening in other stadiums, we cannot control. We have to do our job. There is a lot of football to be played, but it’s a very important game, definitely.
“This game means a lot for us. We have to react from what happened against Chelsea, so I expect that from the players.”
Axel Disasi could make his West Ham debut on Saturday with Jean-Clair Todibo suspended.
Todibo, Nuno says, is the only confirmed absentee at this stage.
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox