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West Ham United scored three goals at Bolton, Jarrod Bowen struck twice and Nuno Espirito Santo's side eventually left Lancashire with another important Championship victory. On the surface, there wasn't much wrong with the attack. Look slightly closer, though, and one of Nuno's more interesting tactical experiments didn't quite produce what he may have hoped. Mohamadou Kante was pushed into the position directly behind Pablo, with Divine Mukasa remaining alongside Arne Engels in central midfield. Kante has power, athleticism and a willingness to run beyond the striker, so it that decision made sense in theory. He can press defenders, attack loose balls and arrive inside the penalty area. But West Ham didn't necessarily need another runner at Bolton, they needed someone connecting midfield with attack. West Ham found other ways to create at Bolton FotMob recorded West Ham in a 4-4-1-1, with Mukasa and Engels as the two central midfielders and Kante operating immediately behind Pablo. The Hammers still generated 2.22 expected goals, registered 11 shots and had 25 touches inside Bolton's penalty area. But the manner in which West Ham scored is revealing. Bowen's opener came after Kyle Walker-Peters' delivery caused problems inside the box and Pablo's effort was saved. The equaliser came from an Arne Engels free-kick, headed home by Konstantinos Mavropanos. The winner arrived when substitute Joël Veltman found Bowen in the 77th minute. In other words, West Ham found three different routes to goal. What they didn't really get was consistent creation through the player occupying one of the most important attacking spaces on the pitch. That is not necessarily a criticism of Kante but it may suggest he was being asked to perform the wrong job. His Championship numbers so far paint a fairly clear picture. Across 312 minutes, Kante has attempted seven shots and accumulated 10 touches inside the opposition box. But he has only created one chance, registered 0.32 expected assists and is yet to even record an assist. That is the statistical profile of a player who is looking to arrive at the end of attacks, rather than somebody consistently constructing them. There's nothing wrong with that but the question is whether it's what Nuno needs from his No.10. M. Kanté France • Age 20 • Midfielder Kante's strengths probably belong somewhere else West Ham midfielder Mohamadou Kante There has already been plenty to like about Kante this season. He's only 20, has scored in the Championship and brings an intensity that Nuno clearly values. His defensive output also remains significant. In those 312 league minutes, he has made 15 recoveries, six tackles and 12 defensive contributions. Those numbers make far more sense when you consider his natural position. FotMob lists Kante primarily as a defensive midfielder, with central midfield as his secondary role. The Frenchman has the physical capacity to cover ground and then continue his run forward once West Ham regain the ball. But playing directly behind the striker changes the requirements in Kante's game. Suddenly he's being has to receive between opposition midfield and defence, turn under pressure, combine with Bowen and the striker, draw opponents towards him and create openings for runners around him. Meanwhile, Mukasa has played almost exactly the same number of Championship minutes (309) but has already created four chances. He's also scored twice, completed 85.5% of his passes and ranks in the 96th percentile for chance creation among attacking midfielders and wingers on FotMob. Indeed, Kante's seven shots and 10 penalty-area touches compare pretty well with Mukasa's six shots and nine touches. So Kante is clearly capable of getting into attacking positions, but Mukasa has created four times as many chances. That's what West Ham potentially lost by asking Kante to play as the link between the midfield and Pablo against Bolton. Another thing to consider is Engels is already carrying an enormous amount of West Ham's creative responsibility. The Belgian has created 15 Championship chances in 450 minutes, registered 1.33xA and provided two assists. FotMob currently puts his chance creation in the 97th percentile among midfielders. West Ham can clearly rely on Engels to create from deeper positions and he did just that with an asssit against Bolton. But asking him to provide the progression and most of the creativity through the middle places an unnecessary burden on him. Ideally, the player ahead of Engels should make his job easier. Wrexham could require something different West Ham midfielder Divine Mukasa Phil Parkinson's side have predominantly used a 3-4-2-1, including in Tuesday's 1-1 draw with Burnley. That system naturally puts bodies into central areas. There are three centre-backs behind two central midfielders, with another two players capable of dropping narrow ahead of them. Therefore, Nuno shouldn't assume that simply putting another powerful runner behind the striker will be enough to open them up. They may need someone capable of receiving in tight spaces and moving the opposition around. Wrexham showed against Burnley that they can compete for territory as well. They had 53% possession, attempted 15 shots and recorded 29 touches inside Burnley's penalty area in the 1-1 draw. So this is unlikely to be a match where West Ham can simply dominate the ball, wait for spaces to appear and rely on individual quality eventually deciding it. Nuno will have to create those spaces, so the obvious response would be to return Kante to a deeper role and push Mukasa back behind the striker. But even that requires some caution, because West Ham used exactly that structure against Watford, with Engels and Kante in midfield and Mukasa behind Taty Castellanos. The Hammers had 64% possession but managed only one shot on target in the 1-1 draw. So, simply swapping the two players doesn't necessarily lead to the answer. The lesson from Bolton is slightly broader than that. Nuno needs to decide what he actually wants from the position behind his striker. If he wants pressing, physicality and someone running beyond the forward, Kante can provide it. If he wants someone connecting the attack, receiving between the lines and helping create chances, the early evidence points to Mukasa taking up that role against Wrexham. Or perhaps Pablo drops back into that role, especially if Taty is fit to play after missing out on Tuesday night. West Ham have scored 10 goals across their last three Championship matches, so there is no need for dramatic change. What Nuno does need to ensure is that the attacking structure becomes sustainable rather than dependent on Bowen producing something special or Engels delivering another decisive ball. But while Kante has plenty to offer this West Ham team, the Bolton win may have shown that asking him to be their No.10 isn't the best way to get it. What do you think? Do you want to see Kante playing behind the striker against Wrexham? Does it all depend on whether Taty is fit? Does pushing Mukasa forward risk unbalancing the midfield? Have your say in the comments below...