Centre-back Questions Arise for West Ham During Relegation Battle

With so many glaring issues at West Ham right now the pending crisis at centre-back has fallen out of focus, but David Moyes better get it sorted quickly.

Sorted now and addressed in the future; West Ham’s centre-back depth and performances have to be a major talking point in strategy and the transfer market. Old, shallow, and underperforming are all the key issues at hand with only one old guard still showing he has elite talent in the group.

Of course, this is Angelo Ogbonna. The Italian centre-back who came to West Ham from Juventus is enjoying the second consecutive season of renaissance form and is the runaway winner for Hammer of the Year as it stands right now. The only issue with Ogbonna is his age, and at 32 years old, the wheels are destined to fall off sooner rather than later.

This means that the Hammers centre-back depth lies in Issa Diop, Fabian Balbuena, and Goncalo Cardoso… yikes. Conversely, if you stated this at the start of last season, it wouldn’t seem like much of an issue. Diop was viewed as one of the best young defenders in the world and had played himself into a mutually beneficial partnership with Balbuena, a bargain buy from South America.

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As Manuel Pellegrini’s form as manager flopped, so too did this defensive pairing. Diop has been the better of the duo, but interest from Manchester United and Tottenham has gone quiet since December with the club and him personally faltering.

Balbuena was once thought to be a diamond in the rough that Pellegrini and Mario Husillos dug up to steady the Hammers’ backline, and to be fair he was for a period of time. Now, he cannot get a match under Moyes despite playing well against Spurs after the restart due to Ogbonna missing out with an injury. Moyes even moved Rice back to CB the match prior instead of using him.

Cardoso, an end-of-window purchase for depth was originally brought in to challenge for first-team minutes, but the youngster struggled in the preseason and has spent his entire West Ham career with the U23s. He has reportedly got on well with the undefeated team and is a first-team practice player, but with the club’s relegation status still unknown he isn’t being trusted to make any appearances.

Outside of some even younger than Cardoso prospects, West Ham is dry at centre-back. If Ogbonna’s form falls off a cliff or he gets injured the team performances will crumble with his absence showing exactly how fragile the club is at the position.

Right now, Diop needs to be sat for a match to refocus him. He’s played poorly in every match since the restart but with Moyes reluctant to use Balbuena, there is no external push for the young defender to up his game even though he needs to. Balbuena may not be the answer, but being benched could light a fire under him and get him back to his best again.

Moyes can liberate his centre-backs tactically, however. By selecting a less predictable set of fullbacks and utilizing the fragile depth at LB and RB that he has, Moyes can attempt to catch lightning in a bottle and find chemistry within his own team.

Next. West Ham Turn To Robinson To Solve Full-Back Issues. dark

For now, Norwich is on the weekend menu and for the Hammers that means an absolutely crucial three points up for grabs. If the team is defensively stout there should be no issue for them, but defensive juggling could be used if the game is safely in hand or after three points are secured for the rest of the season.