Green Street Hammers
Fansided

West Ham Linked with Lazio Defender

By Barrett Rouen

Oct 25, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Nike soccer balls on the field prior to an exhibition match in the women
Oct 25, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Nike soccer balls on the field prior to an exhibition match in the women /
facebooktwitterreddit

Italian newspaper La Repubblica has reported that West Ham United are interested in a loan deal for young Lazio defender Wesley Hoedt.

Having come up through the ranks at AZ Alkmaar before joining Lazio in the summer of 2015 Hoedt is not super battle tested. West Ham generally need players who are younger but is Hoedt the right move?

Last season he made 25 apearances for the Rome based club this season though he has only made 7. Generally speaking if a player isn’t making too many first team appearances it speaks to either a lack of quality or work rate on the practice field or injuries. None of these are necessarily great things to take on as a club.

More from Green Street Hammers - West Ham

Would the move work?

This season it appears to be injuries are the thing that are holding Wesley Hoedt out of the team. He has had a plethora of injuries including malleolar injury in the ankle, a knee injury and general muscular issues. Given his age it is OK to presume that Hoedt will recover from these. When a player is only 22 they are more likely to recover to the same level than a player who is 32.

Hoedt is generally pretty quick and a good tackler. If he were to improve any place I would say it is his reading of the game that is weakest. He is often caught a few steps behind and needs to over compensate with his athleticisim to catch up.

If West Ham can make this move work it could be a very good piece of business. A loan with a right to buy would be the perfect move. West Ham’s defense is going to need rebuilding sooner rather than later, as was exposed in the City match, and Hoedt could be a good move for both now and the future.

Home/Transfer Rumors