I watched Burton Albion vs West Ham – here’s what I noticed about Keiber Lamadrid on his debut
West Ham supporters had been waiting patiently to see why the club brought Keiber Lamadrid on loan during the winter transfer window.
Of course, by full-time on Saturday, 14 February, the major emotion felt by the travelling fans was pure relief, with many returning to the protests shown throughout the game.
Burton Albion held on brilliantly in the FA Cup fourth round, forcing the Premier League side to extra time, before substitute Crysencio Summerville scored the eventual winner.
The Hammers had to hold on for the final 20 minutes after Freddie Potts picked up a straight red card, but it was relatively simple in extra time against a tiring League One team.
Nuno Espirito Santo rang the changes vs Burton Albion
With the big stars being rested, likely ahead of an important clash with Bournemouth, Lamadrid was finally handed an opportunity to impress, being given his first minutes since arriving in January.
First off, it was not the most inspiring of displays from the 22-year-old.
West Ham really struggled to break down their League One opponents, but that did not stop the young Venezuelan from getting his foot on the ball.
In fact, he had 27 touches before being hooked in the 71st minute, having completed 90 per cent of his passes, attempted three dribbles and won 40 per cent of his ground duels [FotMob].
Keiber Lamadrid may have missed his chance to impress at West Ham
You cannot go by his stats alone. They would suggest he did very little across the pitch, but while watching it, he put in a lot of effort at both ends of the pitch.
With one tackle, one clearance and three recoveries, he proved his willingness to push, not just in the attacking third, but in defence, too, helping out his teammates.
And the most obvious thing about his playing style was just how difficult he was to get off the ball, even if it was only against a team near the bottom of League One.
Unsurprisingly, fans are not expecting to see much more of him between now and the end of the season, given that he is only on loan, but there have been much worse debuts in the history of football.
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