West Ham’s Transfer Headache; Billy Gilmour Or Jesse Lingard?

With West Ham currently flying high in 4th place in the Premier League, the sky is the limit for Moyes’ inform Hammers. That is unless West Ham lose one of their key players to injury.

Midfield duo Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek have been a crucial part of West Ham’s fantastic form this season, with the pair developing one of the best midfield partnerships in the league this season.

However, if one of either Rice or Soucek was to be ruled out with a long-term injury, then West Ham’s brilliant season would be in serious danger of collapsing. The Hammers have a small squad for lofty league position and they have very little squad depth, especially in defensive midfield and upfront.

While West Ham’s search for a new striker continues, it seems as if the club are close to bringing in some midfield depth.

It has been reported that Jesse Lingard is close to a loan move to the London Stadium, with David Moyes keen to revive Lingard’s stalling career. This comes after West Ham converted Said Benrahma’s loan deal into a permanent one which means Moyes can now bring in another domestic loan deal.

There is no doubt that if Moyes can help Lingard rediscover his best form then he will be a great addition to West Ham. However, Lingard is more of an attacking midfielder and he would be more suited in either CAM or potentially as a winger.

This isn’t ideal as West Ham need a defensive midfielder to cover Rice and Soucek and while Lingard could cover to some extent, it isn’t his main position and if anything it would hold him back even further.

However, there has been a recent link to a new midfielder who could suit West Ham perfectly and turn Moyes’ attention away from the Manchester United player. According to the Daily Mail, Chelsea midfielder Billy Gilmour has asked to leave on loan in order to cement a place in Scotland’s European Championship squad.

David Moyes is a big fan of the 19-year-old midfielder and is keen to find out if the Scotsman will become available.

This would be a fantastic signing for West Ham as Gilmour is a very exciting and talented midfielder. Gilmour suits the role that we are looking for and he would be getting a lot more game time than he would at Stamford Bridge, under new boss Thomas Tuchel.

This new option is set to give Moyes a headache over who he will bring in as West Ham only have one current domestic loan spot left, meaning Moyes could have to choose between Lingard and Gilmour.

However, there is a solution to this and it comes in the form of Craig Dawson. The 30-year-old is currently taking up the other domestic loan spot but has an option for his deal to be made permanent for around £2-3 million.

Dawson has surprised and silenced all his critics this season and has solidified his place in the Hammers back line with a string of impressive performances. Moyes is reportedly keen to make the Northern Irishman’s stay in East London permanent in the summer, so why not do it now?

If West Ham take up the option to sign the Watford loanee this window then it would allow West Ham to sign both players.

This should be a no brainer for Moyes as it will certify Dawson’s stay at the London Stadium while also massively strengthening our squad depth.

Should Moyes decide to sign both players, it could really transform the dream of achieving European football into a reality.