Taty Castellanos

Key strength: Link-up play

Target man

With West Ham United entrenched in 19th place and staring down the barrel of relegation, Taty Castellanos has emerged as David Moyes' unlikely survival specialist. The 27-year-old Argentine target man, valued at €29m, has shouldered the attacking burden for a side desperately clawing for points—contributing 5 goals and 3 assists across 28 appearances while grinding through nearly 2,000 minutes of physical battle. After three straight defeats threatened to break their spirit, West Ham's recent WLLLW sequence offered a lifeline, with Castellanos' tireless hold-up play proving decisive. Wearing the number 11 shirt, he's not the prolific finisher his position demands, but his aerial dominance and intelligent flick-ons have become the foundation for Jarrod Bowen's creative brilliance to flourish. Six yellow cards tell the story of a striker fighting for every ball in the trenches. In this relegation dogfight, Castellanos embodies the unglamorous excellence that could yet save the Hammers from the Championship.