OPINION
West Ham defender Angelo Ogbonna has stamped his own exit ticket with his worrying display against Birmingham City on Saturday as it’s clearly now a question of when rather than if regarding him departing the London Stadium.
The 30-year-old centre-back’s £70,000-a-week Hammers contract (Source: Spotrac) may not expire until 2022 but he clearly isn’t up to be part of Manuel Pellegrini’s revolution.
Ogbonna is experiencing a run in the Hammers’ first-team as of late due to injuries and isn’t exactly making a case for why he is good enough to regularly feature.
The centre-back seems too slow, is hesitant in possession and makes careless mistakes particularly when you consider how much experience he has.
Even when featuring against Championship opposition in the form of Birmingham on Saturday, Ogbonna didn’t look comfortable from the get go.
The defender was hardly tested by his opponents but he still managed to look nervy and liable to being exposed as if he just seem to lose focus at times when being asked to defend or whenever in possession.
Pellegrini clearly has big ambitions for the Hammers and you feel that he will be aware that he needs to raid the transfer market when he next can to successfully welcome a more reliable centre-back than Ogbonna to see his goals met.
The Hammers boss might not have the funds to do this in January but you feel he might be handed the cash to splash once again when the summer comes around, which means Ogbonna will likely make way then.
The defender had the ideal opportunity to stand out on Saturday by playing lower-ranked opposition but after doing the opposition of that, it’s clear he has stamped his own exit ticket even if the date of his likely departure is unclear.
