Angelo Ogbonna may rue contract decision as West Ham United plot defensive transfer moves
West Ham United defender Angelo Ogbonna may well rue his new contract decision at the London Stadium as the Hammers are reportedly plotting a move for Atalanta defender Merih Demiral.
David Moyes has plenty to do in the coming months in order to get his squad ready for a tough campaign, following the inevitable departure of club captain Declan Rice, while the likes of Gianluca Scamacca, Tomas Soucek Michail Antonio and Manuel Lanzini may be on the move too.
The midfield and attack will certainly need wholesale upgrades in the coming weeks, but it certainly seems as if West Ham United are trying to address their defensive numbers with Ogbonna making the decision to continue his career in East London.
As per the official West Ham website (6 July), the 35-year-old veteran put pen to paper on a 12-month deal after his contract expired last month, containing his eight-year association with the Hammers and will be entering his ninth season with the club.
The Italian has undoubtedly proven a crucial and key figure for David Moyes in recent seasons and also formed a telling component last campaign when the Hammers suffered from a number of key defensive injury problems, despite their disappointing Premier League campaign.
However, last season showed that the Italian defender won’t be the first-choice centre-back when the 23/24 campaign comes around, with the Italian fighting with Kurt Zouma, Nayef Aguerd, and Thilo Kehrer for a starting spot, but according to some new reports, the Hammers are desperately making moves for another which could well mean the Italian may move further down the pecking order next season.
According to Turkish Football [8 July], the Hammers are ready to make a move for 25-year-old Turkey international, Demiral.
Atalanta are said to want £15.3million but are open to negotiations as they want to part ways with the centre-back this summer.
Demiral is an experienced international defender, having also featured for Juventus in the near-recent past and has also played an impressive number of games in the Champions League.
With his European and Champions League-level experience, Demiral won’t be potentially joining the East Londoners to be an instant bench-warmer, certainly not, the Atalanta centre-back has the qualities to be an instant hit and starter under David Moyes and his qualities and stats in comparison to Ogbonna certainly proves as much.
The Turkish powerhouse ranks amongst the top centre-backs across Europe’s top five leagues for several defensive metrics over the past 365 days, ranking in the top 97th percentile for tackles won per 90, 96th percentile for tackles in the defensive third, 98th percentile for dribblers tackled and 94th percentile dribblers per 90 [FBRef] challenged showcasing his front-foot and destructive defensive style.
It’s fair to say Ogbonna doesn’t even come close to those incredible underlying numbers [FBRef] and with West Ham United seemingly looking to return to establishing themselves amongst the top Premier League sides next season, Moyes should be inclined to seek out burgeoning upgrades on the 35-year-old and what he already has at his disposal.
In fact, Demiral isn’t the only centre-back West Ham United are reportedly keeping their eyes on, with the Irons also plotting moves for Real Betis centre-back Luiz Felipe who could cost £17m and Torino’s Dutchman Per Schuurs.
If that doesn’t give Ogbonna any indications of his increasingly declining role next season then we certainly don’t know what will.
In other West Ham news, Gianluca Scamacca’s future is up in the air after a loan move was blocked.