West Ham need another option at centre-back, and quickly

Another week and another first team player out long-term as Fabian Balbuena hits a setback in his injury return. It is no coincidence that West Ham’s form has dipped since he left the team with a knee injury, and Manuel Pellegrini needs to create a more solidified backline instead of leaning on Ogbonna.

The tandem that has looked so solid has been dearly missed in the last few weeks of play. Pulling up lame against Watford, Fabian Balbuena has since missed four matches including one FA Cup match and appears to be out for a few more weeks after reaggravating the issue. The team is still picking up points but is performing less impressively defensively than they had with The General in the lineup.

It was originally believed that Balbuena would be back in contention for the squad against Arsenal but Sam Inkersole has reported that an injury setback has seen this glimpse of hope slip away. The rumor mill is whipping up quite rapidly as there is a belief that Balbuena could need to have surgery to repair his knee now.

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Angelo Ogbonna has stepped into the team in lieu of Balbuena but he is extremely unpredictable and thus unreliable as a long term solution to the centre-back issue.

This would have been the perfect opportunity for Reece Oxford to step up and into the first team to prove his worth with the senior team. His attitude, however, seems to have halted any opportunities with him at this club. First Bilic, then Moyes, and now Pellegrini. All have had their look at him, all have deemed him offload-able and not worth investing in. This includes after TWO clear the air, clean-slate talks with Moyes and Pellegrini.

I wouldn’t be surprised if he made the bench for the Arsenal match seeing as he made his first and only impressive performance against them, but it would be almost disrespectful to overlook someone like Josh Pask on the development team. Pask is by all rights impressing with the U23 team and should be rewarded with a call up rather than Oxford be gifted one.

The other option is to dip into the transfer market. Funds are tight and loans are optimal for this team so we’ll start with the earlies rumor – Gary Cahill. The elder statesman of Chelsea’s backline has voiced his displeasure with being a bench warmer this season, having only played just 21 minutes of Premier League football.

At 33 years of age, this makes sense for Chelsea who have other options at central-defense in their squad. Cahill proved last season with Chelsea that he can still perform at the top level, appearing in 43 matches across all competitions. With Diop missing Balbuena as the vocal leader Cahill could act as a free stop-gap that would also help groom Diop into the leader he needs to become.

Next. West Ham v Arsenal likely to be a high scoring encounter. dark

With the links surely about to begin pouring in for between West Ham and centre-back’s following the injury update on Balbuena being out longer term, the pressure will mount on Pellegrini and the Hammers board. Is it time to bite the bullet and bring in a first team contender? Maybe pinch pennies on a loan? Or even keep the wallet closed altogether and try to fix the problem in-house. It’s decision time at West Ham.