West Ham’s midfield is broken and it’s no surprise the club are working to try and fix it to help new boss Graham Potter.
The mess that is West Ham’s midfield and striker department is the biggest criticism aimed at technical director Tim Steidten.
After pledging to rebuild the Hammers around young, powerful and versatile stars, the midfield is an incoherent combination of slow, unathletic players.
The hodge podge mix of styles do not complement each other.
Or at least they haven’t under the previous two managers as proved by West Ham’s results in the last year.
West Ham’s midfield offers no effective protection to the back four and little by of guile and creativity at the other end.
There is a distinct lack of pace between the collection and it’s the most fundamental problem Graham Potter and the club must solve to make the Irons competitive again.
For all the quips about Harry Potter, Graham Potter isn’t actually a wizard.
So it is a bit much to expect the high energy style he implemented at his previous clubs when he doesn’t have the midfield or striker options to do it at the London Stadium.
Yet anyway.
It’s well publicised that West Ham are working to sign a striker and midfielder in the January transfer window.
West Ham transfer masterclass to land top midfield star
Potter has made it clear he doesn’t want to sign players for the sake of it.
And getting the kind of profile of young player the manager wants is not always easy in the winter window.
The club may have found a brilliant solution, though.
That’s if new claims emerging from France are to be believed.
It could be a West Ham transfer masterclass as a clever ploy to land top midfield star Ezechiel Banzuzi becomes clear.
West Ham fans will be aware of Monaco’s interest in Hammers midfielder Edson Alvarez.
Many fans feel the Mexican needs to be moved on having failed to impress after a promising start to life replacing Declan Rice at West Ham.
That always looked a thankless task.
But Alvarez’s lack of pace, physicality and mobility seriously hinders West Ham.
When he cowardly pulled out of a free header to gift Man City their opener recently, it sealed the 27-year-old’s fate in the eyes of many.
Especially off the back of his brainless red cards and dismal performances this season.
West Ham turned down an initial loan bid from Monaco for Alvarez this week.
But the French club are clearly keen and must be getting encouragement from somewhere that a deal can be done.
Because Monaco made a second offer to West Ham for Alvarez yesterday which is being considered by the club.
Monaco persist with Alvarez as Hammers hijack Banzuzi
Those following the window may have seen that the Principality side were on course to sign young Dutch midfield star Banzuzi.
Banzuzi is labelled an attacking midfielder but actually the 6ft 3in 19-year-old is very much seen as a powerful box-to-box talent.
A player of immense potential, Banzuzi has shown the ability to seamlessly transition between defence and attack.
As you might expect from a Dutch player, his ball control and dribbling skills are top drawer, allowing him to navigate tight spaces, while his vision enables incisive passing to create goal-scoring opportunities.
When defending, the rangy midfielder eats up the ground to break up play with well-timed tackles and interceptions.
He’s perfect for managers who want to play a high-intensity style.
Banzuzi profile perfect for Potter
Now a French journalist claims Banzuzi’s planned move to Monaco is in danger because a Premier League side has hijacked the deal.
And the Premier League side that have been linked with him is West Ham.
Knowing the Hammers are trying to hijack the move and perhaps a sign they have admitted defeat, Monaco are pushing hard to sign Alvarez – who himself was used as more of a box-to-box player in the slower-paced Eredivisie.
According to Foot Mercato’s Sebastien Denis, Banzuzi was close to signing for Monaco but ‘his agent raised the stakes to reach the English’.
And he claims the Ligue 1 side are still in discussion with West Ham over Alvarez.
The claims come after Voetbal International stated last week that the Hammers had made the move to derail Monaco’s bid for Banzuzi with a fee greater than £10.7m – the price reportedly agreed between OH Leuven and the French club – mooted.
Banzuzi’s profile is much more in line with what West Ham fans were expecting from their rebuild.
It could breathe new life into the Hammers side if they can pull it off.
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