Who will be in West Ham’s Central Midfield?

With the transfer window coming to a close without a marquee defensive midfield signing it appears Pellegrini is comfortable the in-house options. West Ham had issues protecting their defensive core last season, so can a new formation and relocated player remedy this issue?

Out of the centre-back depth chart and into the midfield, Declan Rice has graduated to defensive midfield this offseason. This transition started last season with Rice’s international friendlies played with his home nation of Ireland. Rice put on two phenomenal performances against Turkey and USA, worth of man of the match.

Rice is a solid tackler and has good pace, which makes his transition from the backline to midfield logical. His decision-making shows patience and emphasizes his ability to read a game at a level far beyond his years. He is a future captain of West Ham and despite his current contract situation at the club, he should be the one of the main men in the defensive midfield this season.

Rice’s biggest knock is his inexperience. Despite generally making good decisions he is prone to a teenager style mistake here and there. Under the scrutiny of Moyes, last season Rice reacted to the criticism he received for an unclaimed ball in the box against Arsenal, and took the responsibility for the gaff, learning from it, and moving forward.

Other Options

Alongside Rice in holding midfield is wantaway Pedro Obiang. Obiang has had massive injury troubles to overcome this offseason, recovering just in time to impress Pellegrini in preseason play. After scoring a rocket against Tottenham last season Obiang was injured against Wigan less than a month later. The knee injury and subsequent surgery would keep Obiang out of the team until the final three matches of the season.

Obiang is an effective and accurate tackler which has earned him the trust of managers past and has endeared fans to him as well. The dup of Obiang and Rice would settle West Ham down because of their physicality, but also for their poise with possession. Both Rice and Obiang outlet the ball quickly, moving play forward instead of lumping it up the pitch and turning over possession.

“Listen, we going to need the whole squad throughout the season. It’s not just about the first eleven, but a 25-man squad and that’s what we’re going to need. You’re going to get players suspended and players injured, so you’re going to need everyone.” – Mark Noble

Mr. West Ham certainly has to factor into this position as well. The criticism of Mark Noble’s legs being gone and his play diminishing are statistically false. He completed more passes (64th in the Premier League)  than Riyad Mahrez, Dele Alli, and Aaron Ramsey last season with 1,324 successful passes. As well, he is top-100 in Premier League touches (86th) and top-50 in tackles (37th).

Noble’s statistical support only bolsters his claim to continue to lead West Ham on the pitch, alongside his organizational and leadership abilities. He always puts in a shift, never backs down from a confrontation, and even has the ability to make the opposition look silly with a step over or a bit of brilliance.

If West Ham lines up in a 4-2-2-2 formation look for Noble to be a lock for one of the two defensive midfield positions. Rice and Obiang would not be able to dislodge the captain from his spot and would have a bigger issue to contend with, namely Jack Wilshere.

New Kid On The Block

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• West Ham eye two midfield transfers to replace Declan Rice

West Ham’s impressive transfer window included the signing of former Arsenal star Jack Wilshere. The midfield maestro isn’t necessarily a defensive midfielder, nor an attacker. So the formation of 4-2-2-2 might have to adjust a bit to get the most out of Wilshere.

More of a free-roaming, creative central midfielder Wilshere is great in possession and has tremendous vision moving forward. He creates space by reading the game around him and anticipating space in the midfield. He should open up West Ham to a more possession heavy attack, taking them from a one-dimensional attack to something more complex and next level.

Wilshere won’t be covering the back line despite Pellegrini’s favorite (aforementioned) formation, but in the 4-2-3-1 formation Pellegrini tried in the preseason Wilshere would be one of the three midfielders chosen.

The transfer window isn’t over just yet and West Ham may have some loan business to execute before the window shuts. Carlos Sanchez of Florentina and Danny Drinkwater of Chelsea have been heavily linked to West Ham this window. Regardless of who comes, it seems like impressive youngster Declan Rice will have a solid chance to impress with regular minutes this season.