West Ham join Arsenal and Aston Villa in race to seal new defender transfer
West Ham have joined the race to sign VfB Stuttgart defender Waldemar Anton as Premier League interest in the player hots up, according to TEAMtalk.
The news website reported on Wednesday [6 December] that West Ham have joined Arsenal and Aston Villa in a footrace for the 27-year-old Stuttgart captain, who is capable of deploying across the backline or in midfield.
While Serhou Guirassy has stolen the spotlight, stealing interest from several European clubs, Anton’s versatility and defensive capabilities have helped him to come out of his teammate’s shadow.
Creating depth in the squad
Although David Moyes’ squad are clearly good enough to compete in Europe, the combination of the competition alongside the Premier League can pose a serious strain on his current players.
The main back-up to the Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd partnership is summer signing Konstantinos Mavropanos, who proved against Crystal Palace that he is not ready enough for constant minutes for the Europa Conference League winners.
An addition to the squad, such as Anton would not only help the Hammers to survive several competitions, but create a fiercer competition among centre-backs in the squad, with the German playing every minute of the league season so far.
While Stuttgart are experiencing a brilliant season in the Bundesliga, currently sitting in third place behind Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich, the Premier League pull is too much for some players. And so it should be.
Signing a true leader, with 88 per cent pass completion and 71 per cent tackle success this season, could give Moyes a sense of relief to an already stressful season.
Anton also enjoys bringing the ball out from the back, linking the defence to the midfield easily, which would match West Ham’s urgency to attack when finally in possession – an Antonio Rudiger-type style.
60 clearances, 17 interceptions and five clean sheets in 13 matches are evidence that his defensive stats do not suffer because of the attacking side to his game. The perfect blend of offence and defence.
In other West Ham news, one Hammers player’s exit stance has emerged after contract news has dropped.