Who are ya?
True to recent transfer tradition, West Ham have once again been linked to a young and promising player. At 22, Arsenal right back Carl Jenkinson has already been capped by England.
Described on his club’s website as “a fine athlete with a great engine”, Jenkinson started his career at Charlton Athletic before moving to north London to join the team he supported as a boy.
He has made more than 50 appearances for the Gunners, including in the Champions League, but often had to play understudy to Bacary Sagna during his time at the club.
Big Sam, spend some money!
It has already been a relatively spendthrift summer for West Ham.
A fee of around £5 million has been mentioned for Jenkinson, which on its own would seem a bargain for an international in the modern game.
But given the money already spent, the board may be cautious of splashing out further in a position where there is cover in the form of Guy Demel and Joey O’Brien.
A season long loan may be a better option for all parties.
Believability factor
With Sagna signing for Manchester City this summer, Jenkinson would have hoped that opened the door for him to fill the right back position.
It appears Arsene Wenger has slammed that opportunity shut with the signing of Mathieu Debuchy from Newcastle United.
Jenkinson is not going to want to spend another season on the bench, again playing an understudy role.
West Ham will want more depth in defence, and could be set to offer Jenkinson a genuine chance to fully establish himself in the Premier League.
Game changer?
The prospect of a youthful backline, including Jenkinson alongside James Tomkins, Winston Reid and Aaron Cresswell, is extremely exciting.
It would certainly provide the pace and fitness to deal with the pressures of the Premier League, and could be the catalyst for Tomkins finally stepping up to be a genuine enforcer.
Signing another young player with pedigree would be further testament to the fact the club wants to build a settled team that will have a chance of achieving real success.
The prospect of a youthful defence with pace on the flanks suggesting width and defensive recovery makes the signing of Carl Jenkinson on a loan deal or otherwise an attractive proposition for Hammers fans. In this matter, I agree with the analysis. I know there is a lot of support for James Tompkins among the Hammers faithful – and. I risk taking a whack – but I would consider Tompkins the weakest link. Tompkins is simply not Premier league quality: poor positional play, frequent mistakes and a less than commanding and convincing presence at this level. A good championship player to be sure, though he has not yet produced the evidence that a resilient Premiership defence could be built on or around him. However, I agree with the analysis that Reid (a Premier centre back, if not ‘Top Ten Finish’ quality), with Jenkinson and Cresswell would provide youth, strength and some pace. A centre back of quite different stature – and James Collins is brave & solid but nothing more than – is a necessity if the Hammers are to bring together a sound defensive unit. Until and unless Jenkinson is signed, this all remains a speculative pipe dream. The frightening prospect of Demel, O’Brien and Tompkins comprising 75% of the Hammers’ outfield rearguard is nothing short of haunting.
Nothing short of haunting eh? 14 clean sheets! And for the most part with a lot less!
14 clean sheets last season was key in us staying up considering the injury and squad depth issues we had last season – essentially i would say our defensive unit was reasonably sound – i disagree about Tomkins, he is PL quality and plays well with Reid (our best CD) and Collins, but we do need another CD option in the squad – Demel is a weak link at RB and at 33 isnt going to get better and should be offloaded, Obrien as cover for both sides is convenient but not ideal, never a first choice option – Jenkinson would be a great acquisition at RB, well worth the investment, we also need another LB to compete with Cresswell – i think hammers likely have one or two more purchases in the kitty depending on value and whether they can offload those that still need to leave, the rest will be loan deals, with a winger, forward and midfielder the likely targets – lets not also forget Potts and Chambers are knocking away at the first team door, still young but decent cover if needed. I have a good feeling about next season, the squad is certainly stronger, more competitive and younger.
ace lol ?