View: One extreme to the other as West Ham reportedly expect to seal Benrahma & Dawson deals
West Ham are about to play a blinder with their move to sign Said Benrahma from Brentford for £30million.
According to The Athletic journalist David Ornstein, the 25-year-old Algeria international is scheduled to have a medical with the Hammers on Wednesday and his arrival should at least end a disappointing transfer window on a good note.
But, unfortunately, the powers that be at West Ham know how to bring supporters crashing back down to earth with the Guardian reporting that a deal for Watford defender Craig Dawson should also be wrapped up before the 5pm deadline on Friday.
Although the Guardian claims that Dawson, 30, is unlikely to cost the Irons more than £4million, we just cannot see how this is a signing that will improve David Moyes’ defence in any way.
In the last three seasons before this one, Dawson was relegated with West Brom, was a mainstay of a West Brom defence that conceded 62 league goals and then was a key player in the Watford side that suffered relegation last term. Dawson was also involved in just 23 clean sheets in 98 league appearances in that time.
After dropping down to the Championship with the Baggies, Dawson kicked up a fuss by reportedly handing in a transfer request and refusing to go on Albion’s pre-season tour to Portugal [Express & Star].
Dawson came across as someone who didn’t want to help fix the mess that he played a role in creating and once he finally did get his return to the Premier League last summer when Watford signed him, the ex-Rochdale defender did little to suggest he belongs in the top-flight.
We’ll point back to the last three seasons again. Dawson has proven that he isn’t Premier League quality by being part of two defences that were relegated. He also failed to prove his worth in the Championship, with West Brom fans regularly criticising the 30-year-old’s displays in the second-tier.
And as stats by WhoScored show, the ex-England Under-21 international failed to stack up in comparison to West Ham’s Angelo Ogbonna.
West Ham’s defence wasn’t much better than Watford’s last season but Ogbonna still managed to average more tackles and clearances than Dawson in the Premier League.
Ogbonna also conceded fewer fouls and was dribbled past less often than the ex-West Brom man.
Dawson doesn’t improve what we already have at the London Stadium, has shown that he doesn’t like to stick around at clubs when the going gets tough and is starting to gain the reputation of a player who gets teams relegated.
We hope that Dawson doesn’t continue building on comparisons between him and Roger ‘The Relegator’ Johnson.
Looking at this from a positive angle, the Irons are getting themselves someone who has an abundance of Premier League experience with 182 top-flight appearances to his name and for £4million, it’s at least not an expensive signing.
But this is a deal that highlights how disappointing this transfer window has been.
While we are welcoming Benrahma to the London Stadium with open arms, the addition of Dawson is one we’re slightly anxious of.
In other West Ham news, Bournemouth have rejected West Ham’s bid for Joshua King.