Fabien Balbuena: Second Season issues for our Back line general?

Fabian Balbuena was one of the standout performers for West Ham last season. Can he repeat that showing as the manager aims higher up the table?

When he was signed from South America for a very small fee, reported to be less than 5m, many were sceptical. Could a defender from a league that prizes attacking over all else, where the quality isn’t consistent really produce a defender capable of making the jump to Premier League football week in week out? And were West Ham just bargain hunting, rather than looking at quality?

But at the end of the season he was up there in terms of best player of the season. He helped guide young Issa Diop into the league and was a commanding presence in the centre of our defence. Every game he didn’t play was noticeable, and every game he did we looked more secure.

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Whoscored sum up Balbuena’s strengths and weaknesses quite nicely. Apart from his leadership (which is hard to measure statistically) he is recorded as having strong concentration and a high ball interception rate. For a modern defender where the game is played in front of them at all times, they are great traits. And as Pellegrini moves to push our defensive line higher the ability to cut balls out before they reach their targets is invaluable. After all, they can’t score if they don’t have the ball.

And for his weaknesses? Nothing. Nada. Zilch. The stats gurus behind the site have decided that despite playing over 20 games at Premier League level that he has no discernible weaknesses when it comes to his game. And this in a player that we spent less than 5m on? That seems like good scouting to me.

The Hammers will be hoping he can repeat this performance, and I think he can. Not because I’m optimistic or a biased fan, but because the single point that underlined his performances over the last season was consistency. Every game he gave it all and there was no wastage on the ball and no hesitation in defence. So I expect him to hit the ground running and keep doing so until we wrap things up again in May 2020.

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What do you think of Balbuena? Overrated? The focal point of our defence? One season wonder? Let us know on social media and tune into our podcasts as we being to ramp up ahead of a brand new season!