West Ham are reportedly interested in the centre-back
West Ham United are set for a busy summer as the club prepares for the opening of the transfer window, with a number of players already linked to a potential move to the club.
There has been a lot of speculation regarding more than the movements of players as the season nears a close, with the future of manager David Moyes not yet confirmed.
It’s clear that the club’s full focus is on the Europa Conference League final, with just one game remaining of the Premier League campaign, the Hammers are safe and can place all motivation on the historic match-up against Fiorentina.
With the European competition giving the Irons positivity at the end of the season, there is lots the club will require to improve in the summer, after only gaining mathematical safety from relegation last weekend.
West Ham have conceded 53 goals in the league this term, and have been extremely poor defensively as highlighted by The Athletic’s Roshane Thomas, who criticised the club’s “poor” defensive strategies.
Moyes’ woes in defence could be solved this summer, with a Premier League centre-back linked with a potential move to the London Stadium.
What’s the latest on Harry Maguire to West Ham?
According to Football Transfers’ sources, the Hammers are one of the clubs interested in Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire.
The report states that the Englishman could leave the club for £40m this summer, with the player’s price facing a “slash” due to him being out of favour.
The 30-year-old was signed by the club in 2019 from Leicester City for a world-record fee for a defender at £80m.
What could Harry Maguire offer West Ham?
The past few years have been undoubtedly cruel for Maguire, who has suffered reams of criticism for poor performances that have subsequently seen him shunned away from Ten Hag’s team.
Left-back Luke Shaw has replaced the defender’s spot at centre-back in the absence of Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane, fuelling talks that he will depart Old Trafford in the summer.
In a time of struggle for the England international, it’s easy to forget just how much talent and experience the lauded “dominating” £200k-per-week defender – as per his manager – has in his locker.
The potential signing of the centre-back could repeat the success of the club’s former swipe from the Red Devils, as Jesse Lingard faced similar criticism to the 30-year-old and shone when given the confidence in claret and blue.
Praised as making a “big difference” to the squad by Moyes in 2021, Lingard had fallen out of favour at United but rediscovered his form at West Ham to the delight of all involved, scoring nine and assisting five in 16 outings.
There was no denying the quality that the winger had in his locker, which is similar to Maguire, who could have a likeminded impact to his former teammate.
In the Englishman’s final season at Leicester before moving to Manchester, he averaged a 7.01 match rating, as well as a huge 4.9 clearances and 1.2 interceptions per game, showing his composure and dominance in defence – as per WhoScored.
His statistics in that season were comparable to that of Premier League winner Ruben Dias for Manchester City this campaign, who averages four clearances per game and a 7.16 WhoScored match rating, highlighting the heights Maguire has previously consistently reached.
Confidence has undeniably played a contributing role to the centre-back’s lack of form, which could be restored in a change of scenery, as the London Stadium has seen before which resulted in boosting their performance as a squad.
Moyes could make a clever move in signing the out-of-favour defender this summer.