West Ham should be all over Crystal Palace misfits
West Ham’s rivals to the south have listed 22 players on their end-of-season transfer list. So looking to Palace is a no-brainer for Moyes to deepen his squad.
There is certainly no love lost between West Ham and Crystal Palace. This London Derby may not be up there on the scales or Hammers v Spurs, but there is nothing more enjoyable than putting Palace in their place during a matchday. West Ham took four of the six points that were up for grabs this season between the two and should now look to take more.
The Sun released that with the departure of the Eagles Gaffer, Roy Hodgson, they would be releasing the flood gates for transfers out this summer. Names like Gary Cahill, Nathaniel Clyne, and Andros Townsend are on the way out, and Wayne Hennessey, Mamadou Sakho, and Patrick van Aanholt have yet to be offered a new deal.
There’s certainly a solid debate that none of the aforementioned names could get a starting job over the likes of anyone at West Ham. However, this season will be critical for managing man, and David Moyes will need extra help if he wants to keep the Hammers running on all cylinders in all competitions.
West Ham should be all over Crystal Palace misfits.
From the list above, two names pop out when looking at positions that need depth. Both Townsend and PVA come to mind when looking at Palace’s misfit list of players that could fit the bill for West Ham. Townsend has gotten back to his typical mid-30s mark for matches played, and his ability to play both from the middle or the wing could set up the team nicely.
His offensive statistics won’t jump off the page, but his ability to help in pressuring the opposition and rack up the weekly interception or two show his style well in getting up and down the pitch. On the defensive side of things, West Ham looked sharp at times while terrifying at others, adding PVA to the list of backup suitors spell promise and depth for the Hammers.
Coming off of his fifth and what might be his last year at Crystal Palace, we find a different PVA than years past. He only played in 22 matches and had his worst year defensively since joining the Eagles in 2015. Now, before you throw up the red card and push him off, both Aaron Cresswell and Arthur Masuaku are, at best, reliable.
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It’s safe to say that Cresswell made a substantial jump back into the leading candidate for that role, but PVA could be a solid backup or backup to the backup pending Masuaku’s situation. Townsend would be free, and van Aanholt is currently only worth about £5.4 million. If the rumors are true that Moyes wants to get a few deals over the line and then look to free/cheap additions, this is it, and it’s ripe for the taking.