Cam Pring can help transform West Ham United with brand new transfer
Bristol City left-back Cam Pring has been mooted as a potential target for West Ham as they aim to replace the outgoing Aaron Cresswell, according to the Daily Mail.
While a Championship left-back who most Hammers fans won’t have even heard the name of before, probably isn’t the sort of signing supporters had in mind, it has the potential to be a very clever acquisition for the Irons.
The 26-year-old left-back broke through at Ashton Gate in the 2021/22 season and has quickly established himself as the first choice left back for the Robins, making 37 appearances in all competitions last season.
He has quickly grown a reputation in the second tier for being one of those players that quite subtly, under the radar, has become incredibly threatening from defence in a way that is much easier to see than describe.
Last season saw the defender notch up one goal and six assists in just over 2600 minutes, operating from left-back and centre-back (in a bit of versatility not too dissimilar to that displayed by Cresswell).
Statistically he was an incredibly well-rounded performer, shining both in defence and attack. His FBREf scouting report shows that he is incredibly hard to beat compared to fullbacks in the next eight men’s competitions, sitting in the top 3% for both clearances per 90 minutes and aerials won.
On top of this he also averages an impressive 2.53 tackles per game, better than 80% of his positional peers. Defensively he is aided by his incredible pace and physical build, standing at just over 6ft tall while still remaining incredibly quick.
But Pring is by no means a defensive minded player, the same pace that proves so helpful in defence has the ability to leave opposition players frozen like statues in a way that is so hard to convey through the written word, but we’re going to try.
The Cheltenham born defender sits in the 95th percentile for successful take-ons per 90, averaging 1.65 a game and is more than capable of turning that run into a goal scoring chance, averaging an assist every four games, better than 91% of fullbacks.
His successful take-ons that lead to a goal sit at 0.07 per game, placing him in the 98th percentile and his direct style of dribbling with genuine express pace and quick changes of direction can be reminiscent of a player like Adama Traore to watch.
An exciting prospect
Whether or not the Hammers do make a move for Pring, he represents the sort of link that should get West Ham fans excited that their recruitment team are working hard behind the scenes, as he isn’t obviously special, but possesses characteristics very few defenders do.
To the naked eye his assists and goal numbers show that he is an average Championship full-back, but anyone who has watched Pring consistently will tell you that simply isn’t true. His profile couldn’t be much more different from the more passing centric Cresswell or the smaller Emerson and that’s why he would be an exciting addition to not only the Irons but the Premier League.
A deal to take him away from Ashton Gate this summer would likely be expensive, as was the case with other target Alex Scott, due to both players having contracts that could run until 2025 and the Robins not wanting to sell.
But West Ham are going to have to start spending some money sooner rather than later, or this window is going to pass them by and they will have only got weaker in a summer they seriously needed to strengthen.
In other West Ham news, a summit is being held in the coming days for Gianluca Scamacca to finally exit the London Stadium