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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
West Ham United boss Manuel Pellegrini has warned his players that they will have to keep Teemu Pukki quiet if they are to beat Norwich City this weekend, per The London Evening Standard.
What’s he said?
The Canaries have endured a mixed start to life back in the Premier League following their promotion, losing 4-1 to Liverpool and 3-2 to Chelsea, but beating Newcastle United 3-1.
Pukki scored the consolation goal at Anfield and netted a hat-trick against the Magpies, while also scoring once versus Chelsea.
It means that the forward, who has averaged a goal every 53 minutes in the top-flight, is tied with Raheem Sterling as the league’s top marksman.
And Pellegrini is wary of the threat Pukki poses, telling reporters: “He is working exactly the same with good movements, he is a player that has scored five goals in three games so we need to be very careful about him.
“When you have to change competition it always makes some players feel the difference between the Championship and the Premier League.
“We know what Pukki did last season in the Championship and he is demonstrating that the Premier League is not big for him.”
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Understatement
Pukki is probably the in-form player in the Premier League at this point.
The Finland international has taken to top-flight football like a duck to water and is surely set to keep scoring, at least until defences work out how to stop him.
It remains to be seen if West Ham can be the first team to do that; the stats, though, do not bode well.
They have not kept a clean sheet this season, losing 5-0 to Manchester City, drawing 1-1 with Brighton & Hove Albion and beating Watford 3-1.
If they can’t manage it this weekend, it may well be Pukki firing Norwich to all three points, and Pellegrini’s somewhat understated verdict may leave the gaffer with egg on his face.
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