Former Premier League champion Kevin Gallacher has highlighted a massive tactical breakthrough at West Ham United, praising new head coach Scott Parker for finally liberating £22 million summer signing Arne Engels from the bizarre positional handcuffs placed on him by Nuno Espírito Santo.
Engels scored his very first goal in West Ham colors during last week’s dramatic 3-3 comeback against Cardiff City—a strike that arrived moments after Parker altered the 23-year-old Belgian midfielder’s role on the pitch.
After watching the former Celtic star struggle through the opening months of West Ham’s Championship campaign, Gallacher—who won the Premier League title with Blackburn Rovers in 1995—insisted that Parker’s tactical tweak has finally restored Engels to his true, world-class potential.
”He Did That at Celtic”: How Nuno Misprofiled His £22m Marquee Signing
Under Nuno Espírito Santo, Engels was inexplicably deployed as a lone holding midfielder—tasked with sitting deep, screening the back four, and playing the role of a stationary ball-distributor.
Former Celtic manager Martin O’Neill famously lauded Engels for his relentless “running power” and box-to-box engine, while Celtic captain Callum McGregor dictated play from deep to allow Engels to surge forward.
Yet Nuno completely misprofiled his marquee signing, stripping away his greatest asset. Speaking to BBC Radio Lancashire, Gallacher explained how Parker immediately identified and fixed Nuno’s glaring tactical mistake:
“He did that at Celtic, that’s what he’s good at. Running into the space.”
The Tactical Shift: Dynamic Runs from Deep Pay Instant Dividends
Following his appointment, Parker instructed Engels and teammate Divine Mukasa to abandon their rigid positions and make “dynamic runs from deep areas” into the opposition penalty box.
The impact was instantaneous:
- The Cardiff Breakthrough: Mukasa kicked off West Ham’s comeback with a sublime lob, before Engels sprinted onto a Joel Piroe flick-on eight minutes later to finish coolly past Nathan Trott.
- Goalscoring Threat Restored: Against Blackburn at Ewood Park, Engels registered three shots on goal—a massive jump after averaging just 0.7 shots per game across his previous 14 Championship outings under Nuno.
- Engels Reacts: Reflecting on his debut goal, the Belgian admitted: “It was an amazing flick-on from Piroe, and then you go one-v-one with the goalkeeper—something I am not really used to! I’m really glad to finally get a goal for West Ham and help the team with that.”
The Engine of West Ham’s Promotion Push
While West Ham suffered a frustrating 2-1 defeat at Blackburn over the weekend, Engels’ sudden offensive eruption represents a huge silver lining for Scott Parker’s side.
By unleashing Engels’ box-to-box running power alongside Joel Piroe and Divine Mukasa, Parker has given the Hammers a dynamic central threat that was completely absent during the final days of Nuno’s tenure.
If Engels continues to push into attacking spaces, the £22 million man could quickly evolve into the premier goal-scoring midfielder in the Championship as West Ham push to reignite their promotion campaign.
