West Ham Zone View: First team role surely beckons for impressive Hammers loanee
For the longest time West Ham United have needed to improve their options in the centre of midfield, but they partially solved the problem in January.
Tomas Soucek arrived on a loan with an option to buy deal from Slavia Prague, and he looked good in his debut against Brighton & Hove Albion last time out.
However, there remains a lack of depth behind him, Declan Rice and Mark Noble. You need more than just three players in central midfield, that’s for sure.
There’s still Jack Wilshere, of course, but he’s far from a reliable option. Meanwhile, Carlos Sanchez looks destined to leave at the end of his contract this summer.
However, they do have another option who could come in and provide quality strength in depth next season.
Yes, that’s right, Josh Cullen. The 23-year-old has enjoyed another fine campaign on loan at Charlton Athletic, making the step up from League One to the Championship with abundant ease.
He showed what he was all about once again on Tuesday night in the Addicks’ surprise 1-0 win over promotion chasers Nottingham Forest.
The Republic of Ireland international had injury problems over the festive period, but he appears to have fully bounced back now.
Against Forest he made a tackle, three interceptions, two clearances and two blocks. He also produced two key passes, three crosses and four long balls forward. All this gave him a solid WhoScored rating of 6.98.
He’s been putting in those quietly consistent performances all campaign long, suggesting that he is very much destined to be a factor in the Hammers’ first team next term.
If you have four central midfielders in Rice, Soucek, Noble and Cullen who you can alternate between, then that would be ideal. Plus, if Wilshere ever gets fit and rediscovers his old form then he could be a factor as well.
Perhaps Cullen will never be a top class player, but there’s no reason why he can’t be a steady Eddie in the Premier League, a la Noble.
In other West Ham news, a journalist has predicted that two players will leave the club for a combined £160million.