Two West Ham midfielders worryingly among Premier League worst for crucial metric
West Ham fell to a dismal defeat against Sunderland on the opening day of the Premier League, and major changes are needed.
Graham Potter’s side enjoyed a productive pre-season campaign, but this went out of the window as West Ham were beaten 3-0 by newly-promoted Sunderland.
West Ham have had a tough transfer window, but while new signings Mads Hermansen and El Hadji Malick Diouf were not at their best, there are clearly bigger issues in the team.
Hermansen had a particularly poor game in goal, but the midfield was arguably worse, and a shocking statistic has now emerged, which shows that West Ham have a serious problem.
Guido Rodriguez and James Ward-Prowse create West Ham problem
Potter went with a back three, with two experienced central midfielders in Guido Rodriguez and James Ward-Prowse behind Lucas Paqueta.
The midfield duo carry a lot of top-level experience between them, but this proved to be futile as they were ripped apart with ease by a youthful Sunderland team.
- Rodriguez joined from Real Betis on a free transfer a year ago, but has failed to impress
- Ward-Prowse spent the first half of last season on loan at Nottingham Forest, but returned under Potter to play a key role.
The pair have a combined age of 61, while Sunderland’s goalscorers were 20, 25 and 24, and this showed in their work-rate during the game.
Rodriguez and Ward-Prowse did not have the legs to cope with Sunderland’s intensity, and there is a worrying sign for the rest of their Premier League games.
- Rodriguez covered 10.5 kilometres of ground, with Ward-Prowse covering 10.4km against Sunderland.
- This ranks them 163rd and 165th in the entire league for distance covered on the opening weekend.
- By comparison, Sunderland midfielder Granit Xhaka, who is older than both, covered 11.1km, ranking him 25th in the Premier League.
Despite their experience against a team mostly full of debutants, Rodriguez and Ward-Prowse were outrun and outclassed, and the pair need to be upgraded before the end of the window.
West Ham urgently need a new midfielder
The Hammers’ need for a new midfielder is well-documented, with Karren Brady recently revealing that West Ham are aiming to sign one before the deadline.
This has to be West Ham’s priority for the rest of the window, with it now abundantly clear that youthful legs are needed in the middle, and a defensive midfielder who can cover lots of ground would be a significant improvement on the current options.
The nature of the defeat to Sunderland may arguably show that West Ham’s safety in the Premier League is far from secure, and while the Black Cats have been ambitious in the market, the Hammers have regressed after a disappointing campaign last season.
Sign up for the West Ham Zone WhatsApp channel and turn on notifications to have all the latest, breaking West Ham United news sent straight to your phone.