It was a pleasing sight for Soungoutou Magassa seeing his team-mates chase after him after he scored his first goal for West Ham United. The last time he was pursued, it was not under such joyful circumstances.
Magassa, who joined in August from French side Monaco for a fee worth in the region of £17.3million ($23.3m), scored a late equaliser in the 1-1 draw against Manchester United. West Ham remain in the relegation zone on 12 points, and are two points adrift of 17th-placed Leeds United — but have only lost once in their last five Premier League games (a 2-0 defeat against Liverpool).
Magassa, who made his second successive start, was left unmarked as he converted Jarrod Bowen’s flick-on, which was initially cleared off the line by Noussair Mazraoui, from Andy Irving’s corner. The 22-year-old midfielder, named player of the match, struggled to contain his excitement and was embraced by his team-mates. After he kissed the turf, he looked towards the sky and was thankful his prayers had been answered.
His emotions were in huge contrast to the dejection he felt after the 2-0 loss away to Leeds United on October 24. Leading up to that fixture, Magassa was an unused substitute against Brentford and had struggled to influence games against Arsenal, Everton, Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur.
He seldom featured under former head coach Graham Potter, who was sacked in September and replaced by Nuno Espirito Santo. Potter’s preferred central midfield options were James Ward-Prowse, Guido Rodriguez and Tomas Soucek. Magassa’s frustrations boiled over against Leeds, having only played 11 minutes. Post-match, he was the first player to head down the tunnel. He did not acknowledge the away enclosure and gesticulated in anger.
A member of West Ham’s non-playing staff ran to console the midfielder. Two months later, it is opposition players who are chasing Magassa. He was everywhere against Manchester United and is developing a promising midfield understanding alongside academy graduate Freddie Potts, 22.
“Magassa is a tough guy and it (the challenges he has faced) is football,” Mateus Fernandes told The Athletic. “One week you don’t play and then the following week, you need to be ready. He did, I’m happy for him and hopefully he can continue like this. He has brought intensity and fight to the team.
“He is strong and had a very good game but now he needs this level of performance in the next game. Even when he didn’t play, he would arrive to the training ground and train like a beast. This is the difference between the good players and the very good players. We need this in our team.”
Soungoutou Magassa was everywhere against Manchester United (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Magassa had not scored since November 2024 (for Monaco in the Champions League against Benfica). His strike at Old Trafford was the first league goal of his fledgling career.
Team-mates Alphonse Areola, El Hadji Malick Diouf and Jean-Clair Todibo have helped Magassa settle. He is taking English lessons so he can communicate better with his team-mates. The midfielder spoke to ex-West Ham defender Thilo Kehrer in the summer when he was informed of the club’s interest. Kehrer provided a glowing reference, which helped influence his decision.
Post-match, Nuno did not want to single out the midfielder for praise, instead opting to eulogise the effort from all his players. The head coach is aware there are areas of improvement for the team, including the lack of clean sheets and the need to constantly tweak the formation.
Nuno appears to be motivating many in the dressing room. It is fair to say that Potter failed to get the best out of Magassa, while in-form players Potts and Todibo featured sporadically towards the latter stages of Potter’s reign. Callum Wilson, the free summer signing from Newcastle United, is another example. The 33-year-old striker has scored three of his four league goals under Nuno.
The head coach will hope the feel-good factor extends to this Sunday’s game against Brighton & Hove Albion. Nuno has worked hard on the motivational side of things. On November 2, for example, Nuno, with help from the player care team, received childhood pictures from the players’ loved ones which were paraded in the dressing room before the 3-1 home victory against Newcastle United. Leading up to that win, West Ham had not won a game since the 3-0 away victory over Nottingham Forest, then managed by the Portuguese, on August 31.
“It was a turning point for us (the pictures) because after the Leeds game we spoke about many things as a team,” said Fernandes. “We needed to grow up, to learn and we did very well in the next game against Newcastle. The manager showed pictures of us as young kids. He reminded us of the dream (we have) and to enjoy the moment and be the best we can.
“In games against Newcastle and Burnley, we started losing and then scored to turn it around. Even when you’re in a losing position, you need to be able to react and have the belief which stems from the manager. I want us to win games now so we can enjoy the moment even more.”
In the coming days, Nuno will echo Fernandes’ sentiments, with the hope that Magassa plays another starring role.