BRIGHTON’S “BRAZILIANT” BERNARDO TO SOLVE MOYES’ LEFT BACK ISSUES?

West Ham United are reportedly keen on signing Left-back Bernardo on loan from Brighton.

It is quite clear that David Moyes is desperate to strengthen the fragile backline of West Ham and the Scotsman see’s the former Leipzig man as a potential solution.

The 25-year-old earned some rave reviews for his time at Leipzig and eventually earned his move to the Premier League in the summer of 2018. However, the Brazilian hasn’t quite made the impact expected during his time on the south coast, with the player becoming the second choice to Dan Burn.

The news hasn’t exactly filled Hammers fans with excitement, on the contrary, most supporters seem to be quite unhappy with the club’s ambition.

Despite the initial flood of disappointment, here is a closer look at the positives and negatives of West Ham potentially bringing in the Brazilian:

Positives

While the 25-year-old hasn’t played much this season, that is mainly due to the great form of Dan Burn, there is still a very good player there and Bernardo could thrive in a West Ham team next to Ogbonna. Bernardo is also five years younger than West Ham’s current Left Back Aaron Cresswell and still has lots of time to improve.

Defensively, Bernardo is an improvement on Cresswell, with the defender making an average of 1.9 tackles per game compared to Cresswell’s 1.4 per game according to WhoScored.com. The former Leipzig man is versatile and can also operate as a Right Back and a Defensive Midfielder.

There is also the potential for Bernardo to bring out the best in fellow countryman Felipe Anderson. One of the main theories for Anderson’s rapid decline this season is that the winger has been massively let down by his fullback Cresswell. Anderson was having to repeatedly drop back and cover for the Englishman which saw his attacking numbers take a huge hit and that has resulted in a lack of confidence.

Bernardo is a better defender than Cresswell and the Brazilian doesn’t tend to get forward very much as he is more of a traditional Fullback instead of a Wingback. This could really benefit Anderson as he would no longer have to play as a second ‘Left Back’, which would enable him to stay in his natural attacking position.

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The Fullback might just be the key to Anderson rediscovering his form.

The nature of the deal could also suit the Hammers at the moment due to the lack of funds available this summer. By bringing Bernardo in on a loan deal, it could allow Moyes to go and spend more money on other areas of the defence.

Negatives

One of the main negatives about this potential move is the lack of ambition from the owners. Bringing in Bernardo would be a solid, safe but unspectacular transfer.

There are much better targets out there that would be a massive upgrade on the current options, such as Brentford’s Rico Henry who is supposedly available for a bargain £10 million. Brighton are also interested in Henry and it seems as if the West Ham board trying to take the cheap option once again.

Given the fact that the board have just sold a future star in Grady Diangana to West Brom for £18 million, the club should be looking to use that money to strengthen the team’s weakest area. Signing Henry, who is widely regarded as one of the best Fullbacks in the Championship, would show ambition and would also be good value for money.

It just makes sense for Moyes to go for the player that he has watched more and who has a high potential resale value.

While it would be a solid if not unspectacular option, it could be argued that Bernardo could be a very wise addition to strengthen a leaky defence as well as the key to unlocking Anderson’s ability once more. .