Thomas Frank says West Ham could sign ‘one of the better’ Premier League defenders
After addressing their forward line with the additions of Pablo and Taty Castellanos, West Ham are now focused on improving their defence.
The Hammers have the Premier League’s worst defence, with even bottom sides Wolves and Burnley conceding fewer than their total of 43.
According to reports, West Ham have gone back in for Charlie Cresswell from Toulouse after showing interest in the summer, and he isn’t the only one on Nuno Espirito Santo’s radar.
West Ham are tracking OH Leuven centre-back Roggerio Nyakossi as a possible option to bolster their back line, as well as someone currently playing in England’s top-flight.
Ethan Pinnock emerging as potential January target for West Ham for their survival bid. The 32yo has wealth of Premier League experience over last five seasons at Brentford and competition expected if made available
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Thomas Frank’s verdict on West Ham target Ethan Pinnock
Brentford stalwart Ethan Pinnock emerged as a January target for West Ham on Friday, with the 32-year-old set to be made available by the Bees.
Pinnock has slowly watched his game time decline in recent seasons and has played just 231 minutes across three Premier League appearances in 2025/26.
Keith Andrews has mostly preferred a defensive duo of Kristoffer Ajer and Nathan Collins, with the Jamaican international forced into warming the bench.
Pinnock joined Brentford from Barnsley in 2019, and the 6′ 4″ colossus was crucial to Brentford winning promotion in 2021, before establishing himself as a regular in the top-flight under Thomas Frank.
He played at least 29 times in each of his first three Premier League campaigns, and Frank was a huge fan of him.
Speaking in May 2024, the Dane said via Brentford’s official website: “This is his fifth season and it’s fair to say he’s been one of our best players over those five seasons – the most consistent and best centre-back.
“What he’s doing for this team is incredible. I think Ethan is one of the better centre-backs in the Premier League; he’s so efficient.
“He’s made four fouls this season, which is unbelievable. That’s such a low number, even compared to all the other world-class centre-backs in this league. That says everything about him.”
Why Pinnock would be a questionable signing
Capturing Brentford’s fourth-choice centre-back would be an act of desperation from the Hammers and he isn’t guaranteed to improve their defence.
Nuno currently lacks mobility in his back line with Max Kilman, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Jean-Clair Todibo, so adding Pinnock into the mix would be questionable.
The Jamaican isn’t blessed with the recovery pace and agility that West Ham desire, and whilst he could improve them from set-pieces, signing him would feel like they’re preparing for the Championship.
Pinnock lacks match sharpness, having only made five appearances across all competitions this term, and he’s arguably no longer at the level required to play regular top-flight football.
On top of that, the towering defender turns 33 in May, and so giving him a sizeable contract seems like a bad move all round.
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