Moyes hails ‘consistent’ West Ham defender Cresswell
West Ham manager David Moyes praised defender Aaron Cresswell, who the Scot said has “found a role he’s comfortable with” this season.
Speaking ahead of the Hammers’ clash with Leeds United at Elland Road on Friday night, Moyes hailed the left-back, who has primarily played as the left-sided centre-back in a back three this season.
Cresswell has been an ever-present in the Premier League so far this term, providing three assists from his 11 starts.
Moyes, who in his second spell with the club, is working with Creswell for a second time and explained that the 30-year-old had “stepped up”.
“He is a very good boy to work with,” he said (via Claret and Hugh).
“This is the second time I’ve been here with Cress and on both occasions, he’s been really valuable. More importantly, he’s calm, he’s consistent and he plays regularly which is important in modern football.
“I think he’s found a role he’s comfortable with too, playing as a left centre-back, but he’s also more than capable of playing at left-back, and that’s what he is really. I think his assists this season have been important. I’m not sure how many he had last season, but I think he’s really stepped up with his deliveries and his involvement in the game this season. We want him to keep doing that.”
Cresswell has made an excellent start to the season despite his new role, averaging 1.8 key passes and completing 1.4 tackles per game (via WhoScored).
However, he could be forced to refamiliarise himself with the left-back position following the news that Arthur Masuaku is having surgery on his knee (via Claret and Hugh).
Masuaku has played as a wing-back for much of this season and Moyes will be forced to either adapt his formation or personnel in order to cover for the loss of the DR Congo international.
Other than Cresswell, there is no other genuine left-back option in the squad, which could see the Englishman shift to wing-back, with Issa Diop replacing him in the back three. Otherwise, the Hammers could switch to a back four with Cresswell moving to left-back and an additional midfielder coming into the side.
In other West Ham news, why Moyes should drop Fornals in favour of Benrahma