Six years ago, West Ham United found themselves on the brink of disaster. Having lost seven of their previous 10 matches, the Hammers had descended into the Premier League’s relegation zone. Desperate for a solution, they completed two signings in January’s final days, with Jarrod Bowen and Tomáš Souček arriving for a combined £41 million.

By Zach Lowy

The rest, as they say, is history: Souček helped shore up their porous midfield, Bowen delivered a consistent source of goals, and together, the duo transformed West Ham’s fortunes for the better. After narrowly avoiding the drop, they achieved back-to-back European qualifications before reaching the promised land with the 2022/23 UEFA Europa Conference League title, their first major trophy in 43 years.

Since that miraculous night in Prague, West Ham’s magical carriage has dilapidated into a pumpkin, finishing ninth in 2023/24 and 14th in 2024/25. Having parted ways with David Moyes in 2024, the East London side have since gone through Julen Lopetegui (22 games in charge), Graham Potter (25), and now, Nuno Espírito Santo (16). Santo’s position is becoming increasingly tenuous after a dreadful run that has seen West Ham lose five of its last six, the nadir coming in a 3-0 demolition at previously winless Wolves. Once again, West Ham find themselves in danger of going down, and once again, they’ve splurged on two January arrivals in order to ameliorate their fortunes. They’ve acquired Taty Castellanos from Lazio for an initial £26m, whilst they’ve also added Pablo Felipe from Gil Vicente for an initial £21.8m. Together, they’ll be looking to revitalize a West Ham attack that has failed to get the job done this season.

Born in Braga to former Porto player Pena, Pablo moved to his father’s homeland of Brazil and underwent an unsuccessful trial at Fluminense before returning to Portugal and ascending through the Famalicão academy. He registered four goals in 38 appearances before dropping to the Portuguese second tier, scoring once in 15 for Paços de Ferreira, followed by another loan to top-flight outfit Gil Vicente. Despite scoring just five times in 23 matches (three coming vs. Boavista), he convinced Gil to sign him on a permanent deal after going from their third-choice striker to their starter. Their intuition was proven correct; Pablo skyrocketed to the upper echelon of Liga Portugal’s strikers, racking up 10 goals in 14 appearances and spearheading the Roosters to the league’s top four, before making the move to England.

“Pablo must be the Gil Vicente player with the fastest and most remarkable evolution that I’ve ever witnessed,” stated @GilVicenteInfo. “He fit perfectly into César Peixoto’s system, assisting the team defensively with his pressing, whilst offensively, he enjoyed a massive improvement, especially in his shooting. Pablo has converted almost every opportunity he’s had, whether with his right foot, left foot, or head, and he’s stood out for his physical power and ability to play with his back to goal. He’s strong in associative play, often dropping deep or wide to create passing options, and his short strides and quick dribbles enable him to get past defenders and score goals.

He’s one of the best strikers to have ever played in Barcelos, even though he’s only had half a season with amazing numbers, and if he can continue developing, he can establish himself in the Premier League. However, I doubt that will happen now, because he needs time and patience to adapt, and at West Ham, and he won’t have the time, much less the patience, to develop – they need him to deliver immediately. It seems like a panic buy.”

Whilst Pablo (22) has spent the entirety of his professional career in Portugal, Castellanos (27) grew up in Argentina and commenced his career in Chile and Uruguay before heading north and becoming New York City FC’s attacking talisman. Castellanos won the 2021 MLS Golden Boot with 19 goals and 8 assists, leading NYCFC to their maiden MLS Cup, before taking his talents to Spain and racking up 14 goals in 37 appearances for Girona (four of those goals coming vs. Real Madrid). This earned him a transfer to Lazio, where he showed plenty of promise but ultimately failed to cement himself as the heir to Ciro Immobile’s throne, scoring 22 goals and 16 assists in 98 matches in Italy.

“Taty Castellanos struggled mightily as a winger before becoming the default striker after our main No. 9 injured his knee,” stated NYCFC play-by-play announcer Glen Crooks. “Castellanos learned to be a striker, and he’s a success story as to how NYCFC morphed into the initiative of signing U22 players, developing them, selling them, and then building again. However, Castellanos needs a supporting cast around him…he’s not a guy who will entirely carry a team by himself. Back in 2021, nine of his 19 goals were assisted by Maximiliano Moralez. He can elevate his teammates in terms of what they’re capable of doing in front of goal, but there needs to be things happening around him. He’s not a one-man band, but his work ethic and what he does on the defensive side of the ball are almost as vital as what he does in the attacking framework.”

Whereas Castellanos was immediately thrust into the starting line-up on Tuesday, Pablo replaced Lucas Paquetá for the final half-hour and was shoehorned into an unnatural second striker role in their 2-1 defeat vs. Nottingham Forest. And whilst Pablo is enjoying an impeccable start to the campaign, Castellanos has scored in just two of his last 18 matches. Both are risky gambles for West Ham, who sit seven points away from safety, and who have not won a single match since November 8. If they fail to beat QPR in Sunday’s FA Cup fixture, then Santo could very well be West Ham’s fourth managerial casualty in 20 months.

Can Pablo Felipe buck the recent trend of strikers who have struggled to adapt from Liga Portugal to the Premier League? Can Taty Castellanos shake off his recent woes in front of goal? West Ham will be certainly hoping so as they look to mastermind yet another escape from relegation and avoid dropping down to the Championship for the first time in 15 years. 

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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Can Taty Castellanos and Pablo Felipe Save West Ham’s Season