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West Ham set for defining battle of the midfielders

By Adam Smith

SHANGHAI, CHINA - JULY 20: #33 Josh Cullen of West Ham United and #11 Matt Ritchie of Newcastle United in action during Premier League Asia Trophy 3rd/4th Playoff between Newcastle United and West Ham United at Hongkou Football Stadium on July 20, 2019 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Yifan Ding/Getty Images)
SHANGHAI, CHINA - JULY 20: #33 Josh Cullen of West Ham United and #11 Matt Ritchie of Newcastle United in action during Premier League Asia Trophy 3rd/4th Playoff between Newcastle United and West Ham United at Hongkou Football Stadium on July 20, 2019 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Yifan Ding/Getty Images) /
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Forget transfer links (that are likely fake) for a minute, the West Ham midfield is currently steady but is set for a massive duel for the right to be the next guy up.

There are two massively important steps for West Ham to complete this summer before the aforementioned midfield battle starts – Sign Tomas Soucek permanently, and keep hold of Declan Rice at all costs.

Once these are settled, the transfer budget will be set in stone. No £100m in from the sale of Declan Rice and the subtraction of roughly £13m off the reported £40m Moyes has to spend, sent to Slavia Prague to confirm the permanent signing of Soucek.

Assuming that David Moyes sticks with his 4-4-2 formation, the starting central midfield is set with Rice and Soucek. Mark Noble is the defacto alternate and situational play as well, bringing versatility and leadership with him on the pitch. Also, Carlos Sanchez is out of contract in the summer, so he won’t be factoring in anymore (thankfully).

That leaves two names for Moyes to pick from to fill out his midfield rotation: Josh Cullen and Conor Coventry.

Josh Cullen

Dubbed the next Mark Noble, Cullen has had tremendous success at the U23 level for West Ham and was believed to be the heir apparent to Noble’s midfield spot and captain’s armband. Failure to impress Manuel Pellegrini and David Moyes (in his first stint as manager) saw him off on multiple loans to Bradford, Bolton, and Charlton where he currently plays.

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At 23-years-old, Cullen is no spring chicken and has aged out of the prospect category. Teetering between not good enough and not being given a chance, I’ll lean towards the latter as Cullen has had just 6 minutes of Premier League action in his career.

Celebrated this season at Charlton in the Championship, Cullen has had a very strong final year in his expiring West Ham contract. His WhoScored.com rating is a 6.97 overall midfielder with splits of 6.95 as a CM, and 7.04 as a DM. With an average per-game stats of 1.5 key passes, 2.4 longballs, 1.6 crosses, 1.8 tackles, 1.2 interceptions, and 1.5 clearances, Cullen is showing off his versatility.

Moyes has reportedly wanted another look at the Irish midfielder and for good reason. If the club are going to be targeting British players under 25 years old, Cullen fits the bill and would be free to extend his deal. Poised for years of International football ahead of him, Cullen needs to be examined ASAP.

Conor Coventry

Calm, composed, and an absolute dog in the holding midfield position, Conor Coventry is exactly the type of player West Ham needs in their ranks. The question that remains on Coventry is if he’s ready for Premier League football. It’s hard to say, but with tensions around him leaving the club mounting in January before his new deal, it could be time to commit or quit for both sides.

At 20-years-old, Coventry has plenty of time left to mature. He’s technically still on loan right now with Lincoln City in League One. By all accounts he looks a fit in their midfield and seems a natural leader, however with the team stuck in 15th in the table it’s hard to assess his effect on a winning team.

He’s captained the U23 team, played for Ireland’s U19s and captained those squads all while picking up man of the match honours along the way. His WhoScored.com rating is just 6.23 but his highest positional breakdown is 6.72 at CDM and he’s just played seven matches for Lincoln.

The resolution to this problem is two-fold and includes both players. As mentioned, both fit Moyes’ plan for a British (Ireland included in both cases) under 25 players, and both fit the board’s need as being cheap. For the immediate, it’s Josh Cullen. Sign him on, give him playing time on a long leash, and let him step up as a midfielder.

Next. How David Moyes can bolster West Ham’s summer ‘war chest’. dark

For Coventry, secure him a loan to a Championship side next season and let him play against stiffer competition to up his game. He’ll return a year older with more credible playing experience opposed to PL2, and will chip in with the cause of bringing glory back to the Academy of football.