‘Absolutely Brilliantly’ – West Ham Out-on-loan Star Hailed By Ex-Hammer | OneFootball

Richard Pelham/Getty Images

Former Bristol City and West Ham United hitman Leroy Rosenior has hailed Hammers loan star George Earthy for his tireless pressing during attacks and defensive transitions.

Earthy is very highly rated at the London Stadium and he played three Premier League games for the Hammers in the previous campaign.

In the summer window, Championship side Bristol City loaned him in for the entirety of the season, but he took his time to become an important player for Liam Manning.

Earthy has started only seven Championship matches at this point because Manning sees him as a player who can make an impact off the bench.

The 20-year-old started at the weekend against Watford in the Robins’ 2-1 victory, which Rosenior thinks was contributed to by Earthy and his team-mate Max Bird.

The ex-Robins and Hammers attacker highlighted how much work Bird and Earthy did in transitions and referenced it to the Robins’ 1-0 loss to Burnley last month; he has praised Earthy before.

“When people talk about [Bristol] City playing with double 10, I always think about old City in possession, getting in little pockets of spaces, and there is more about the pressing”, Rosenior said on Robins TV (11:13).

“I said about the mobility of Earthy and Bird in those areas, where they can not only press forward but also press back.

“What we saw the Burnley side do brilliantly last week was their midfield players and front players, when it went behind, they were pressing back towards the ball.

“Max Bird and Earthy do that absolutely brilliantly; they run back towards the ball, and it allows you to win possession of the ball.

“I thought that was big difference for City out of possession with Bird and Earthy.”

The Robins are currently pushing to finish inside the top six of the Championship and it remains to be seen if Earthy will be able to help Manning’s side maintain sixth position with six league games to go.

Now only time will tell where does Earthy’s future lie next term after he goes back to the Hammers at the end of his loan spell at Bristol City.