So December – the busiest month on the Premier League calendar – comes and goes without a single win for West Ham or Brighton; 12 matches played between them, but only occasional draws to show for their endeavours.
At least this meeting of the winless was not short on entertainment, with two goals apiece in just the Premier League’s second ever game to see three first-half penalties awarded. But the draw – matching the one they shared at the Amex Stadium earlier this month – helps neither team.
For a Brighton side who sat two points off third place heading into December, the bottom half of the table is growing ever more familiar. How Nuno Espírito Santo must be envious of such mid-table mediocrity after eight games without a win for his West Ham team. Nottingham Forest’s defeat against Everton at least means the gap to safety has edged marginally smaller to four points.
Nuno has already labelled the upcoming transfer window as “very important”, explaining that “there are positions where we need to have more options”. Nowhere has that been more acute this season than up front.
Having achieved no more than moderate success deploying Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville as central strikers in recent games – and with Niclas Füllkrug on his way to Milan on loan – Callum Wilson was handed his first start in five games. If Nuno has his way, he might soon also have the services of Jørgen Strand Larsen to call upon, with West Ham preparing their opening offer for the Wolves striker. Whether that extends to his £40m asking price remains to be seen.
