According to a recent report from Dean Jones, West Ham United have put Toulouse centre-back Charlie Cresswell at the top of their shopping list. They hope to fix their leaky defence with this move. Nuno Espirito Santo finds his side stuck in 18th place, four points from safety.
This is mostly because the team have let in the second-highest number of goals in the league. The report says the Hammers want to sell Luis Guilherme to raise some cash. At the same time, the club’s owners are getting a formal bid ready for Cresswell.
They think this signing could finally steady the backline. The chase has picked up speed after Nathan Ake reportedly turned down a move to East London. This forced the scouts to look for other realistic options to stop the slide.
While Gil Vicente forward Pablo looks like a done deal to strengthen the attack, the manager still insists that staying up depends on better defending. So, West Ham officials are drawing up an offer for the 23-year-old centre-back. They feel pretty sure they can talk the former Leeds United prospect into coming back to English football.
Do West Ham need Charlie Cresswell?
Looking at the squad’s current gaps shows that West Ham must sign a proper central defender during this window. It’s the only way for the club to stay in the Premier League. The team often switch off during the most important moments of a game.
Bringing in a player with Charlie Cresswell’s tough style could bring some much-needed discipline. Nuno Espirito Santo counts on his team staying tight and organised when they don’t have the ball. This means he needs defenders who can stay focused for ninety minutes while under pressure.
Cresswell showed he can handle physical battles during his time in the Championship. He has also improved his positioning while playing in Ligue 1. On the pitch, the manager could use the player as a no-nonsense defender in a deep line.
He would tell the Englishman to focus on just clearing the danger rather than trying to play out from the back. A simple role like that fits the immediate goal of scraping for results to get out of the bottom three. Charlie Cresswell looks like a common-sense fix for a problem that puts the club’s future at risk.
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