West Ham will be looking for a new defensive midfielder after losing Carlos Sanchez to injury, according to Claret & Hugh.
The dedicated Hammers news site shared that Manuel Pellegrini was ready to bring in a replacement for the summer recruit after the midfielder had been ruled out for the season.
Claret & Hugh report that while Declan Rice has excelled as the defensive presence of the Hammers’ midfield, the club still feel they could do with additional cover and further competition in that key area of their team.
OPINION
This is no real surprise as losing Sanchez to injury for the whole campaign was a blow. While the midfielder never really got to showcase why he was brought to the London Stadium as he managed only six appearances before being cruelly sidelined. The position of defensive midfielder has been one that the Hammers have struggled to find a long-term solution for, that was until Rice started impressing in recent games. The teenage sensation clearly has the skill set to make that role his own but if he gets injured then Pellegrini will be scrambling around for a solution. While as Claret & Hugh point out that Jack Wilshere, Robert Snodgrass or even Pablo Zabaleta could be used as cover for Rice, a January transfer mission makes more sense. Hopefully the Hammers find a easy solution to address this key area of their team in the winter window as normally it is hard to find a top-quality defensive midfielders for a reasonable price.
