West Ham United manager David Moyes has a habit of completely ostracising certain members of his squad.
It has happened in the past when certain players like Sebastien Haller, Felipe Anderson and Gianluca Scamacca have all ended up leaving West Ham because of the treatment they received from David Moyes.
READ ALSO: West Ham owners were forced into big David Moyes U-turn
It’s why the Hammers boss prefers a smaller squad, so that he doesn’t have to deal with unhappy players – he has admitted that on numerous occasions in the past.
Times have changed now though. Clubs with ambitions of succeeding on several fronts need to have a squad adequately prepared to deal with the sheer volume of games.
And as a result, Moyes has to change tack. He needs to keep those on the fringes of his squad more motivated by making them feel properly involved with the first-team – none more so than Thilo Kehrer.
Signed from Paris Saint-German for £13 million in the summer of 2022, the German has struggled to fully establish himself at the London Stadium.
Vladimir Coufal is the club’s number one right-back, whilst Kurt Zouma, Nayef Aguerd, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Angelo Ogbonna are all ahead of him in the centre-back pecking order.
This obviously represents a real problem for both Kehrer and Moyes, but I believe a simple solution is staring the West Ham boss squarely in the face…
David Moyes must change West Ham ace’s position
Moyes has to do something drastic with the former Schalke and PSG man, if he is to salvage the defender’s Hammers career.
He has played just 18 Premier league minutes this term (Transfermarkt) – nowhere near enough for a player with his calibre.
Kehrer is a top-class defender on his day, and he recently highlighted his performance during our 1-0 win over Manchester United last season as his best ever in a Hammers shirt.
The 27-capped Germany international has a lot of really impressive attributes including his pace, power and passing ability.
However, his concentration levels, positional awareness and rash decision making when it comes to flying into challenges leaves a lot to be desired.
With this in mind, I feel like Moyes needs to give Kehrer a chance to shine in a completely new position for the Hammers.
As things stand, we currently have no cover for Edson Alvarez as an out-and-out defensive midfielder, and I believe the 27-year-old former PSG star could be the man for the job.
His athleticism, tenacity and passing ability makes him perfectly suited to playing just in front of the back four. I’m not suggesting for one minute that he should take Alvarez’s place in the side, but he’d be a great backup option for the Mexican, and he could start in that role in the cup games, both domestic and continental.
The beauty of playing him in the DM role is that any mistakes he might make shouldn’t be as costly, because he’ll be operating further away from the goal than he usually does.
And let’s not forget – the position isn’t entirely alien to him. He performed it admirably for Schalke and PSG on numerous occasions, with Thomas Tuchel having praised his ability to play in that particular role (PSG’s official website).
It’s time that David Moyes gave Kehrer one final chance to impress for West Ham in the defensive midfield role, and if he disappoints, then I’ll have no complaints if the Scot sells him.
READ ALSO:
West Ham player removed from international squad already after suffering injury
42-year-old Englishman is on West Ham owners’ radar to replace David Moyes, if the Scot is sacked
David Moyes drops big hint about who is to blame for boring West Ham football
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
