What would Jack Wilshere bring to West Ham United?

With the infamous ITK ExWHUEmployee all-but confirming England International Jack Wilshere’s imminent free transfer to West Ham United as new manager Manuel Pellegrini’s 4^th addition to his squad, what is the new boss’s thinking behind the transfer?

Firstly, lets look at Jack Wilshere’s stats over his Premier League career:

www.premierleague.com | @WestHamSHOUT

Both promising and worrying stats there for us Hammers fans. Whilst the disciplinary record is poor, and the number of fouls conceded is just under the total appearances he’s made for his entire career, the amount of interceptions made is promising (87 more interceptions than Paul Pogba over his 60 appearances compared to Wilshere’s 166 Appearances) and his tackle success is impressive, especially when you consider how many goals West Ham have conceded from defensive errors.

The signing of Jack Wilshere will certainly take the pressure off the defence, something both new signings Fabianski and Diop, and the already-burdened Ogbonna, Reid and Rice, will rejoice in.

Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images

But stats aren’t everything. Jack Wilshere is widely-acknowledged to be a West Ham fan personally, due to a picture released by the player of a young Jack Wilshere wearing a West Ham shirt.

Twitter/Jack Wilshere (@JackWilshere)

Whilst this has never been confirmed in as many words, presumably for professionalism reasons, as his reputation as a level-headed young leader would suggest, it is a fact that members of Mr. Wilshere’s family are West Ham Season Ticket holders and would undoubtedly have been a factor in the player’s apparent “desperation” to join the Hammers.

So, all seems fine and well… as good a player as you’re going to get on a free transfer. What’s the catch?

If there’s one word that comes to mind when someone mentions Jack Wilshere… it’s injury. The player has spent, an eye-watering, 1,013 days injured, which translates to approximately 33 months or 2.7 years on the side-lines throughout his entire career. He’s had multiple injuries in his Ankle, Calfbone, and Knee throughout his career. That said, last season, Jack managed to feature, in some capacity, 1 more time than our most capped player, Pablo Zabaleta, for Arsenal last season.

Does this mean that Jack Wilshere has put the days of injury hell behind him, and is now able to perform to his enormous potential? Manuel Pellegrini seems to think so.

Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

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