Fewer touches than the goalkeeper: £38m West Ham ace must step up amid injury crisis after below par display v Fulham - view

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Graham Potter steered West Ham United to a crucial 3-2 victory against capital rivals Fulham in his Premier League debut at the London Stadium.

The Hammers needed a morale-boosting win to counter a three-match losing streak across all competitions, and Potter’s troops rose to the occasion.

Much of the talk surrounding West Ham heading into the London derby was their need for a striker, having lost Michail Antonio, Jarrod Bowen, and Niclas Fullkrug to long-term injuries.

However, they certainly weren’t lacking firepower against Fulham as goals from Carles Soler, Tomas Soucek, and Lucas Paqueta rendered Alex Iwobi’s brace inconsequential en route to a vital win.

Victory on home turf takes West Ham ten points clear of the relegation zone ahead of Wednesday’s round of fixtures.

£38m ace must step up after uninspiring display

There were a number of encouraging performances from the Hammers, particularly from the goalscorers and centre-back Max Kilman, who put in a decent shift at the back.

However, one player who stood out for the wrong reasons was Mohammed Kudus.

The £38m forward struggled to assert himself in the game and was largely anonymous until Potter rightfully took him off in the 63rd minute.

He was involved in the build-up to Soucek’s goal, but other than that, Kudus was largely ineffective.

The 24-year-old had just 34 touches in the game, fewer than Lukasz Fabianski’s 56, although he showed his combative side in the middle of the park, winning six out of ten ground duels.

He was guilty of giving the ball away one too many times, losing possession ten times in what was a below-average performance for a player of his calibre.

With West Ham missing Antonio, Fullkrug and Bowen, Kudus needs to step up and hold down the fort until the calvary arrives.

He’ll need to put in a significantly improved performance when West Ham welcome Crystal Palace to East London in next weekend’s mouth-watering capital derby.

Stats from Sofascore.com