OPINION
Throughout this season West Ham United centre back Issa Diop has been regarded as the unquestioned leader of the Hammers backline.
However, the question must now be asked, why is that still the case? The 6ft 4in Frenchman [Source: Transfermarkt] has been absolutely dreadful over the second half of the season, and the bloom is very much off the rose when it comes to the former Toulouse man.
That’s not to say that the 22-year-old is suddenly a bad player, he’s not, but there’s no doubt that he might benefit from a spell on the sidelines. He needs to know that his poor form has consequences, which hasn’t been the case so far in his West Ham career.
It’s for that reason, then, that manager Manuel Pellegrini must experiment with a surprise Fabian Balbuena-Angelo Ogbonna partnership at the heart of the defence moving forward.
The latter comes in for a lot of criticism from the club’s supporters, but even the most ardent anti-Ogbonna proponent must concede that the Italy international has been better than Diop in recent months. In fact, he has been the best West Ham defender since February kicked in.
Once a figure of ridicule, he is now – somehow – the Hammers’ most reliable defensive stalwart. With that said, he should not be dropped by Pellegrini any time soon.
Balbuena, meanwhile, is finally back to full fitness after a long absence and, considering the phenomenal form he displayed in the first half of the campaign, he must come back into the team soon.
Why not pair the Paraguayan with Ogbonna, then? They are the team’s two most in-form centre halves so why not play them alongside one another?
With that said, its high time that Pellegrini drops the axe on Diop after yet another horror show against Everton on Saturday. Balbuena and Ogbonna, it’s surely worth a try?
