Taty Decision Looms But Nuno Hints at Bigger West Ham Problem
Claret & Hugh · Gonzo · 2026-09-10T15:46:56+00:00 · nguồn gốc
By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)
West Ham face a late decision over Taty Castellanos ahead of Friday night’s game against Wrexham, but it was another part of Nuno Espírito Santo’s update that really caught my attention.
The Argentine missed Tuesday night’s 3-2 victory at Bolton Wanderers after suffering tendon pain against Derby County.
Speaking to the official West Ham website, Nuno confirmed Taty is improving. But he also revealed the striker is only “one of the players” who needs assessing.
“It’s been a tight schedule, and we have a lot of things to assess,” said Nuno.
“Taty is one of the players in that situation, among others.”
That last bit is interesting.
West Ham Changes Look Inevitable
There were certainly some tired legs on show against Bolton. West Ham are currently playing twice a week and this particular turnaround is even tighter than usual.
Tuesday night to Friday gives Nuno one less recovery day than he would have had with a Saturday fixture.
As we highlighted before the trip to Bolton, the Championship schedule is already starting to bite.
For that reason, I’d say there is absolutely zero chance Nuno fields the same starting XI against Wrexham.
He was probably going to rotate anyway.
His suggestion that there are other players being assessed only makes changes even more likely.
I Wouldn’t Risk Taty
If Castellanos is only borderline fit, I wouldn’t risk him. I’d probably start Joël Piroe anyway because he is the more natural goalscorer.
But I do think Taty is incredibly important to Nuno’s preferred attack, particularly alongside Pablo. We saw at Bolton that the Pablo and Mohamadou Kanté partnership simply didn’t work.
I made the same point when looking at Pablo’s difficult night at Bolton. West Ham or at least the version with Pablo in it probably did miss Taty.
It wasn’t really until Piroe came on during the second half that the attack started functioning better. And that change formed part of the reason West Ham’s stronger squad eventually made the difference.
So yes, Taty matters.
But with two games a week and a long Championship season ahead, risking him on Friday if he’s not completely right would make very little sense.
The bigger question now is who else Nuno was referring to when he said “among others”.