West Ham Potential Line-Up Next Season

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 21: Jordan Pickford of Sunderland in action during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on May 21, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 21: Jordan Pickford of Sunderland in action during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on May 21, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
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Centre-Backs

STRATFORD, ENGLAND – MAY 05: Jose Fonte of West Ham during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur at London Stadium on May 5, 2017 in Stratford, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
STRATFORD, ENGLAND – MAY 05: Jose Fonte of West Ham during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur at London Stadium on May 5, 2017 in Stratford, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)

Jose Fonte

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Fonte is a good player and slotted in, in a back four he will be able to do the job well in rebuilding the Hammers defense.  Having spent much of the season relying on a defensive midfielder to do the job West Ham will benefit from a full season of a specialist center back at the base of the team.  Fonte is getting on in age but he will be able to platoon the position with Reece Oxford and West Ham will benefit from that very combination of experience and youth.

Chris Smalling

Chris Smalling is rumored to be on his way out of Manchester United with West Ham one of the interested parties. Smalling and his athleticism and height are sorely needed in the West Ham defense.  Too often West Ham’s defenders were not only slower but too technically inefficient to deal with the ever increasing technicality of the Premier League.  At 27 years of age Smalling is about to enter the prime of his footballing career and if West Ham add him for 20 million pounds or less it should be viewed as nothing less than an absolute steal.