The Chalkboard: Manuel Pellegrini looking to recruit in the wrong areas for West Ham?
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Pablo Fornals has recently become the second central attacking midfielder to be linked with a move to Manuel Pellegrini’s West Ham United by rumours in quick succession after Morgan Sanson.
The Sky Sports report suggesting that the club are closing in on a deal for the former claims that the Hammers have their eyes on five to six midfield targets and they hope to have progress on them in the next two weeks.
But why are the east Londoners going after so many midfielders when firstly recruitment simply isn’t needed in the area, and secondly there are other positions that need strengthening much more?
Possibly until next summer, central defensive midfield is a part of the pitch secured for Pellegrini with the likes of Declan Rice, club captain Mark Noble, Pedro Obiang, Josh Cullen and Carlos Sanchez in the ranks.
At the moment, Rice and Noble are the pairing of choice to hang in front of the defence protecting it and the former may be in his 30s, though is showing no signs of letting up. There’s more-than-able temporary cover anyway.
Then you have Jack Wilshere, arguably England’s most promising midfielder at one point and still not finished at 27 years of age, able to turn out in any of the three central midfield positions.
Going further forward Manuel Lanzini is the first choice in central attacking midfield and ready for a big comeback campaign with exciting talents such as Nathan Holland, Dan Kemp and Josh Powell all coming through the ranks and capable of making that position theirs.
If Pellegrini felt he needed more options for the number ten role, he should have kept Samir Nasri on for a bit longer as looking to spend the budget on the midfield at all is wrong. He’s making a huge transfer blunder before the summer window is more than just a few weeks old.
The gaffer doesn’t have nearly as much to spend at present as he did in his first summer at London Stadium and needs to be shrewder with the cash, spending it in areas where more bodies really are needed.
What about up front where he has already lost Andy Carroll and Lucas Perez and could trim the area even further as the weeks go by?
That’s without even touching on the left-back situation where neither Aaron Cresswell nor Arthur Masuaku have been unable to establish themselves as the first choice and only one name has been mentioned so far. If West Ham focus on midfielders this summer, 2019/2020 could be a long old season for the Claret & Blue Army.