Summer West Ham transfer link would solve defensive problems

Late in the summer transfer window, a link appeared that didn’t fit at the time. The versatile defender, however, could be of great use now and may be worth pursuing.

Perhaps it was a name generated by Mario Husillos, or perhaps just agent talk, but Ajax defender Joel Veltman crept into the picture as the summer transfer window closed in 2019. Looking back, his versatility and quality could be revelatory for West Ham now under David Moyes.

The legitimacy of the link is also not in question as Veltman himself commented on the move saying that there was a mutual interest with West Ham, to fulfill his desire to play football abroad. And also revealed that Ajax put a stop to his move due to Matthias De Ligt moving to Juventus and leaving their squad thin.

So, who is Veltman? The 27-year-old defender has spent his entire playing career in the Ajax system, beginning in 2008. I am reluctant to say center-back or right-back specifically because Veltman has shown his worth to Ajax by playing both of these positions for long stretches of time.

This is perfect for West Ham who are seemingly in the market for both center-back depth as well as right-back depth due to Ryan Fredericks‘ and Ben Johnson‘s injuries. This season, Veltman has played in 27 matches across all competitions, features at RB six times and CB 21 times. Last season, he flipped this ration playing RB 13 times and CB once as he was coming back from a substantial knee injury.

He is European proven, Internationally proven having played in 40 matches for the Netherlands over his career, not past it at 27 years old, and defensively versatile. David Moyes can solve two problems with this signing, especially if he is going to maintain his three-at-the-back formation. Veltman isn’t the next great Premier League defender, but the Hammers could do a lot worse than this gadget player.