West Ham defender Fabian Balbuena has
decided his future and will leave the club in the summer. The defender’s contract is due to expire at the end of the season, and he will be able to sign for other clubs for free. It had been
that Balbuena’s days at the club were running down. Despite an improved level of performance this season, David Moyes has never really favoured him. During Moyes’ second spell in charge of the club, Balbuena has mostly been a back up to Angelo Ogbonna, Issa Diop and now Craig Dawson. The 29-year-old defender will have plenty of suitors after reports emerged that he is wanted all around the globe. Balbuena has an interest in his services from clubs in Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Italy and the USA.
Fabian Balbuena has been a good servant for West Ham and a bit of a bargain too.
The Hammers will be disappointed that Balbuena has chosen to leave the club this summer. There was an option to extend the Paraguayan’s contract by a further year, which would have allowed the club to sell him and receive a transfer fee. Instead, the club will get nothing from the player’s departure. The financial aspect is a shame, but footballing wise the General’s exit is not detrimental to the squad. David Moyes has plenty of centre-back options available to him. Ogbonna and Diop have been solid, as has Dawson, who is expected to join permanently in the summer. The manager also has some great prospects coming through the club’s academy. Jamal Baptiste, Aji Alese, and Frederik Alves Ibsen are all showing promise. Alves has even been earmarked for a place in the first-team squad next season. So Balbuena would have potentially been a spare part next season.
Balbuena only cost the club £6.5 million to sign him from Corinthians three years ago, a bargain in modern football. The defender has
for the Hammers, scoring on three occasions.