West Ham United in defensive nightmare with no fit centre-halves
West Ham United could have to face Southampton on Sunday (16 October) without a single fit centre-half, according to Claret and Hugh.
The club were already acutely aware that Nayef Aguerd would not be fit to face the Saints having been injured for almost his entire spell at the London Stadium so far but things have got much worse.
Kurt Zouma is currently suffering from a high temperature and flu-like symptoms, as is striker Michail Antonio, while Craig Dawson suffered a dead leg against Anderlecht on Thursday (13 October).
The situation has been worsened with a suspected injury to Angelo Ogbonna potentially ruling him out of the contest at St Mary’s and leaving David Moyes without an option.
“As things stand, we have no fit central defenders. Let’s hope they recover for Sunday,” a London Stadium insider told Claret and Hugh with the Hammers in an anxious wait.
Desperate
Ben Johnson must have thought that his days of playing in the centre of defence were over but he may have to bring back the old trick on the South Coast.
If any of the usual suspects has a small chance to play then Moyes might be forced into risking their long-term well-being for the short-term good of the club.
It is not a situation that any manager wants to find themselves in but that is the cruel mistress that football is sometimes and somebody will have to stand up for the team and do a job they might not have expected to.
The logical move would be to drop Declan Rice to centre-half, where he has played before in his career, and maybe even convert to a back three with Johnson and Cresswell on either side, a role both did at times last season.
The signing of Emerson Palmieri has given West Ham the flexibility to change systems swiftly and not lose any kind of structure or attacking threat.