West Ham United have confirmed the signing of 30-year-old Scottish international Lisa Evans on a free transfer, she was previously associated with Arsenal. This is not West Ham’s first signing of this season, but actually their third, after they announced the signing of Halle Houssein hours before and they have also signed Jessica Ziu officially.
Evans was on loan with the Irons last season, where she excelled as a starter and being one of the main members in the attack. She recorded 4 goal contributions in 16 league appearances as a winger, but she’ll look to better that as a permanent member of the squad.
After signing with the Hammers, she said: “I’m delighted to be back with West Ham,” Evans told West Ham TV. “I knew when my loan was coming to an end that I wanted to be here for the long-term. I really enjoyed being here last season and I felt like it was an unfinished chapter in my life. This is a project that I want to be a part of moving forward, so it was an easy decision for me to come back here.”
New West Ham manager Paul Konchesky said that “Lisa is a fantastic signing. Lisa was unlucky with injuries last season and I’m not sure we saw the best of her. This being said, there is no denying that when she did play, her performances had a massive impact on the team and our success. She’s a massive asset on and off the pitch and she’s exactly the sort of player that we need at this football club.”
Many West Ham fans will be delighted with her coming back, with many hoping for her re-arrival in her loan leaving announcement. Hammers fans know how brilliant she was for their team, and so if she can reach a higher ceiling, there could be many joyful moments at The Chigwell Construction Stadium next season.
Lisa Evans played at Arsenal for five years, making 44 league appearances during that time frame. She was always more of a team contributor than a star player, a stat which is reflected in her stats throughout the years. However, this will be very important for her at West Ham, where team collaboration could be the difference between 1 point and all 3, and the Irons will need the latter if they want to push on next year.
The helpful thing with Evans going on loan to West Ham before joining is that she can fit right in and hit the ground running next season. Evans will also be able to continue to link up with Halle Houssein, whose signing was announced just 3 hours prior to Lisa Evans’.
Lisa Evans plays well when her team transitions from defense to attack. Her goals have come from when the ball has been passed around so she can make a run between two defenders and not be picked up easily. For example, against Manchester City, she picks up the ball on the right hand side in a 3 vs 4, passes to the player in the middle to open it up, and smartly runs through 2 defenders who aren’t in sync, so when she gets a good ball back, she in the position where she can do an inside run and faces the goal, goes round the goalie, and slots it into the back of the net. That’s something which she can do at West Ham, but she’ll need a quality passer like Kateřina Svitková was to the Irons to join and work well. Houssein could be that, but they need someone more experienced to guide her through it.
Also, due to her partner Vivianne Miedema signing a new contract at Arsenal, it was likely that Evans would sign with a team in London, and with her good performances at West Ham along with the environment Konchesky has convinced her that he wants to create and he wants her to be a part of, Lisa Evans has signed for West Ham. So as West Ham fans all around the world will be saying, welcome back Lisa Evans!
