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Former West Ham United striker John Hartson hopes that Valentin Castellanos and Pablo Felipe outdo his partnership with Paul Kitson.
Both Hartson and Kitson arrived at West Ham United halfway through the 1996/97 season and eventually scored the goals that kept Harry Redknapp’s side in the Premier League.
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It’s hard not to see similarities when it comes to Castellanos and Pablo. While neither are quite as convincing in front of goal, they have had a profound impact on the way Nuno Espirito Santo’s side operate.
Indeed, Taty and Pablo have helped transform West Ham’s style of play, while the former has bagged five goals in 16 games since joining from Lazio.
Hartson hopes that the two eclipse what he and Kitson were able to achieve.
Hartson wants Taty and Pablo to do better than him at West Ham
The former Wales striker scored five goals in 11 games after joining from Arsenal, while Kitson bagged eight in 14.
Taty and Pablo have some way to go to match a combined haul of 13 but Hartson would like to see it happen.
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Speaking to The Athletic, Hartson said: “Credit to Nuno for changing the formation because a lot of teams don’t play 4-4-2 anymore, which is a great shame.
“West Ham are still down there but these two strikers have been the difference makers. It can be tough joining a club midway through the season, especially when you’re in a new country like Taty and Pablo, when the language barrier could be tough. But they’ve brought energy. Credit to Nuno for getting the best out of them.
“Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville have been outstanding recently, too and they’ve formed a good understanding with Taty and Pablo. I hope they work on their partnership more than me and Paul did. I want them to be better than us, so in 20 years, fans will be calling it the Taty and Pablo partnership like how they fondly remember me and Paul.”
Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty ImagesNuno pushed West Ham to sign Taty and Pablo
West Ham do not often get much right in the transfer market, particularly when it comes to buying strikers.
The jury on the pair is still out. There are genuine concerns about their ability to score goals at the highest level.
However, it is difficult to imagine West Ham being in a position to even dream of safety if they did not sign the two forwards.
Interestingly upon their respective arrivals, the club made it very clear that Nuno advocated for West Ham to sign Taty and Pablo.
They may not be the players to take the club to a new level, but they could keep them on their current platform at the very least.
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