West Ham United: Defensive clearout on cards as transfer ‘priority’ emerges at London Stadium
Frank McAvennie has told West Ham that their transfer priority this summer should be to sign two new centre-backs and a new goalkeeper.
The former Hammers man insisted they should be looking for replacements for Alphonse Areola and Lukasz Fabianski, while he has previously slammed both Kurt Zouma and Konstantinos Mavropanos.
He explained that he wants to see players who are going to fight for the badge – naming Vladimir Coufal as an example – but would be looking to bring in “a new defence”.
McAvennie – speaking exclusively to West Ham Zone – insisted that Coufal has impressed him, hinting he should be one chosen to remain at the London Stadium.
“I think they [Fabianski & Areola] been there for a while, so they should be looking for one. I think two centre-halves and a goalkeeper would be my priority. A new defence,” McAvennie shared.
“I like Coufal. He got left out for a bit but came back fitting on all cylinders and he’s been decent. Just get people that fight like that, that’s all I want.”
West Ham transfer priority emerges at the London Stadium
When asked whether Fabianski had done a good job covering for Areola, McAvennie insisted both should be replaced this summer – despite Areola having been widely praised for his displays in the Premier League this season.
His criticism of the club’s centre-backs has continued, most recently claiming that the likes of Lucas Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen would be “fed up” with having to do so much work in helping out at the back as a result of their inconsistency.
Zouma and Mavropanos have come under particular pressure for their performances this season as their mistake-prone displays have been a large reason for the growing frustration at negative results at the London Stadium.
Given the form of Emerson Palmieri at left-back and McAvennie’s admiration for Coufal on the opposite flank, three new signings in the middle should be enough to strengthen David Moyes’ side and push the team onto another level.
In other West Ham news, Moyes has been alerted to one new transfer target.
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