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West Ham United: Top Two Needs Heading into Next Season

By Henry Tomlinson

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 01: Robert Snodgrass of West Ham United celebrates with his team mates after scoring his teams third goal during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Brighton & Hove Albion at London Stadium on February 01, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 01: Robert Snodgrass of West Ham United celebrates with his team mates after scoring his teams third goal during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Brighton & Hove Albion at London Stadium on February 01, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images) /
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1.    Squad Depth.

LONDON, ENGLAND -(Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND -(Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images) /

West Ham has had a weird season, to say the least. Early on the Hammers looked an outside bet for a top-six place and certain to be in the top ten come to the end of the season. Now they are in a relegation battle and have struggled to get themselves clear from the bottom three.

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One reason for this has been the lack of quality in the squad depth. The injuries to Lukasz Fabianski, Ryan Fredericks, Michail Antonio showed just how brittle the squad is, especially after a couple of injuries.

West Ham is in dire need of another summer of heavy investment, this is crucial to building depth to the squad so it can cope with the strains of a full season. The club requires an entirely new set of full-backs, on both sides. Aaron Cresswell and Arthur Masuaku have struggled in recent times to be consistent and the club should aim higher and look to move them on while they can still be sold for a decent price.

On the right-side Pablo Zabaleta has lost his pace and always looks like a liability when he plays against anyone with pace. Ryan Fredericks had potential, but injury problems have curtailed his progress. Leaving Jeremy Ngakia, he has really impressed since coming into the side, but a full season as the first choice might just be too much for the youngster who could need a little more time to settle into the squad.

Manager David Moyes has already said he is looking for younger players to build the side around, this could see some players be moved on from the club like Robert Snodgrass, Carlos Sanchez, Andriy Yarmolenko and Fabian Balbuena. If they were to be sold then it is critical that they are replaced with a hungrier, fitter and better players.