El Tri: Chicharito not on gameday roster as West Ham win

Clearly not in the plans of West Ham manager, Manuel Pelligrini, where does this leave the Mexican striker?

Since signing with West Ham United, Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez has found it difficult to get time on the pitch. Signed under Slaven Bilic in the summer of 2017, the Mexican striker has seen just 32 appearances under three different managers across all competitions.

On Saturday, West Ham beat Manchester United without Chicharito in the gameday squad. It’s become painfully clear, he needs to find a new club to get time.

I had held out hope the Hammers would use him in much the same way as Bayer Leverkusen did in Germany, where he had success. West Ham is one of my Premier League interests and so the thought of the striker becoming a staple there was very appealing. It’s not happening, though. So where should he move when the transfer window opens?

Back to Liga MX

Maybe the most obvious ways to speculate would be a return to Liga MX. Hernandez came up through the Chivas system and scored 26 goals in 64 matches with the club from 2006-2010. Would he return to Chivas to finish out his career? Perhaps. It’s unlikely that is his next move, however.

At 30 years old, Chicharito still has enough left in the tank and enough sheer talent to be a player on a fairly substantial club. He may return to his home country someday, but I suspect that is a little way off for now.

The Carlos Vela route

He could make the move to MLS, as has been rumored for what seems like 100 years. Living in the US is appealing to many players and despite the weird rules MLS has and the salary cap, the league finds a way to pay its stars.

Could he join his good friend, Carlos Vela? Obviously, Vela and Hernandez have different approaches and personalities when it comes to soccer. It seems more likely he’d head to MLS than Liga MX at this point, but again, I think he has his heart set on at least one more stop in Europe.

Where in Europe?

This is where my speculative chops are lacking. I don’t know enough about how teams in the big four leagues (EPL, Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1) play to know where he’d fit best. Judging by where he has had success in the past, Germany seems like a good option for him. With Bayer 04 Leverkusen, he bagged 28 goals in 54 appearances and played in the UEFA Champions League.

I doubt Bayer 04 would take him back unless they sold a player such as Leon Bailey, but Wolfsburg or TSG Hoffenheim or even RB Leipzig, might be willing to spot the cash to bring the Mexican in and make a push for a Champions League spot. He knows the league and it seemed to suit him.

Or he can stay in England and sign for Ipswich Town and help my Tractor Boys gain promotion. That’s always an option, I’m sure.

Predicting his landing spot

In all honesty, I could easily see him decide to stay in London and fight for his spot with West Ham. It’s hard to see him overtaking Marko Arnautovic as the preferred striker, but given the fact he has already left England and then worked his way back, I don’t know how willing he’d be to leave again. Perhaps there is another EPL team that will want to use him properly, but I just don’t know who that would be.

My prediction is back and forth between “stay with West Ham” or “head back to Germany”. He probably has one more World Cup cycle left, so he needs to be playing at a fairly regular rate. The best place for him to do that is Germany. I think he’ll head back to the Bundesliga.

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