OPINION
If there has been one West Ham United player who has enjoyed a reversal of fortunes this season, it’s centre back Angelo Ogbonna.
The Italian, even now still a polarising figure, has gone from someone often ridiculed to Manuel Pellegrini’s most reliable centre half. He’s truly been excellent over the past few months.
His improvement has been highlighted by the fact that, now that Fabian Balbuena is back in the team, it’s Ogbonna, not Issa Diop, who is getting the nod to start alongside the Paraguayan.
That would have been unthinkable only a few short months ago, but the 30-year-old’s impressive turnaround is evidently now complete. He is a fixture of the Hammers first team now and deserves the respect that he has been denied – due to his own faults – for so long.
Just last month West Ham news source Claret & Hugh reported that Pellegrini would likely choose between keeping Ogbonna and injured centre back Winston Reid this summer. It’s safe to say that that probably isn’t a debate the Chilean is having any more.
In fact, it’s imperative that Pellegrini keeps Ogbonna at the club this summer. He is the perfect centre half for a team like West Ham. Someone who might not necessarily always be your first choice in the seasons to come, but a player who Pellegrini can put into the team at any time and not be concerned that he’s going to make a crucial error.
That hasn’t always been the case with the former Juventus man, but it very much is now. He has changed his narrative and is now one of the most dependable players at the London Stadium. Credit to him for that.
