Slaven Bilic will give Javier Hernandez the stage to show he deserves No1 billing at West Ham

It's two years since Slaven Bilic tried to sign Javier Hernandez and, having finally got his man, the West Ham manager will use him as the focal point of his attack.

When the £16million striker is given the chance he usually delivers but, for much of his career, those opportunities have been hard to come by and that clearly rankles.

The 29-year-old became the star at Bayer Leverkusen when he left Manchester United just under two years ago after a deal with West Ham could not be agreed.

The Mexico international remained the star for the duration of his stay in Germany but that was never the case at United or at Real Madrid, even if he boasted impressive goal tallies.

It became clear when meeting Hernandez for FourFourTwo magazine last May that not only can he quote those numbers but that he also thinks he deserved a greater opportunity in Madrid and Manchester to be the first-choice striker.

“If I’d had more chances at United or Real, I’d probably have been ‘the star’ there as well — we’ll never know, because I didn’t have the chance,” he said last year. “I never had the chance to play 20 games in a row so people could say: ‘He’s a good player who should stay’ or ‘He can’t be the star — he’s not a good player’.”

That didn’t come across as arrogant but it was clear he was frustrated. That feeling was no doubt greater last summer, having just proved his goal scoring knack with Leverkusen.

Hernandez had just racked up 17 goals in his first Bundesliga season in 28 games. That tally reflected just how much he benefitted from being Leverkusen’s main man as he helped them qualify again for the Champions League. The Leverkusen squad possessed many capable players but everything seemed to revolve around Chicharito.

Highlight reels might suggest he is merely a finisher but Hernandez proved he is more than that. Even at a tick under 5ft 9in, his lack of height did not hinder his ability to bring team-mates into the game with his back to goal.

That also showed in his uncanny ability at winning free-kicks. Often you could see him tactically seeking contact from defenders whether it was on the halfway line, helping to relieve pressure on his team, or in dangerous areas around the opponents penalty box.

Goals were, of course, what cemented his status as the team’s star meaning it was equally noticeable then that Hernandez did not enjoy such a fruitful campaign with Leverkusen over the past 12 months.

Hernandez scored 11 times but that tally covered up two lengthy goal droughts. Prior to scoring on the final day of the season, he had not scored in just under nine hours in all competitions but earlier in the campaign, he endured a much drier spell going nearly 19 hours without a goal between October and January.

“Chicharito had a few things pre-occupying him off the pitch,” said coach Roger Schmidt during that first run, pointing towards Hernandez’s break up with his girlfriend at the time but other factors were at play.

Leverkusen for instance endured their worst Bundesliga season in 14 years. They looked toothless and predictable as an attacking unit for most of last season. Chances as a result were harder for Hernandez to come by, particularly when the team were consistently shown up for having no plan B.

With Leverkusen failing to qualify for Europe and Hernandez’s contract running out next summer, it was somewhat inevitable they would look to sell their most valuable asset.

He will be missed on the pitch as they simply do not have a finisher like him but such is the following that Hernandez brought, the club will miss him off it, too. And West Ham can benefit on both fronts.

When his replica shirt went on sale from the Leverkusen club shop online after signing in 2015, the server went down. Eight million Twitter followers tells you the kind of celebrity he is back home in Mexico. For context, West Ham have 1.2m followers. It’s unsurprising then that as of yesterday, West Ham now have a Spanish Twitter account, too.

At Leverkusen, Hernandez was the only player to have their own goal music with La Cucaracha, a song famous in Mexico, played out over the PA system each time he scored at the BayArena. Perhaps do not expect that at the London Stadium in the coming months but if Bilic sticks with the Mexican as the star man, then Hernandez will do the rest.