Report: West Ham in for several European right backs
West Ham United manager David Moyes made the brave decision on Wednesday night to hand teenage right back Jeremy Ngakia his debut against Liverpool.
There aren’t many more intimidating opponents to face in your senior bow, but the 19-year-old performed admirably in the Hammers’ 2-0 defeat at the London Stadium.
While his ascension to the first team was evidence of the fantastic progress he’s made, it was also a sad indictment of the lack of right back options Moyes has at the moment.
First choice Ryan Fredericks is currently out injured, while his back-up Pablo Zabaleta is a grand 35-years-old.
So it’s no surprise that the Irons are looking for reinforcements at the position this month, with Football Insider reporting on Thursday that they are waiting for replies to a number of offers they’ve made.
Red Bull Salzburg star Rasmus Kristensen remains top of their list, but they’ve also put a bid in for Genk’s Joakim Maehle.
Toulouse youngster Kelvin Amian Adou is also on the club’s wanted list, although their interest in Nottingham Forest’s Matty Cash is now at an end.
Could any of these be the answer for the Hammers?
The club obviously feel Kristensen could be, because he’s at the top of their list of priorities. However, they’ve identified a number of options here.
Maehle is a young man at just 22 years of age, but he’s already played more than a century of games for Genk.
Adou is a year younger than Maehle, but likewise has more than 100 appearances for Toulouse, to go with 16 caps for France Under-21s.
Perhaps he’s the best option for the Irons, but you wonder whether it would be worth giving Ngakia a run of games after what he showed on Wednesday night.
In other West Ham news, the club’s supporters have been raving over one player who featured against Liverpool.