West Ham shipped five goals against Manchester City on the opening day of their Premier League campaign.
Since then, however, the Hammers have looked very solid defensively.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side have let in just two goals in their last four Premier League games.
And Angelo Ogbonna might just be the reason why.
He joined the east London club from Juventus in the summer of 2015 for around £10 million, according to BBC Sport.
The Italian, who earns £70,000 per week according to Spotrac, missed the game against City, with Fabian Balbuena being selected instead.
Ogbonna, 31, retuned for West Ham’s trip to Brighton and Hove Albion, however, and he has kept his place in the side ever since.
The former Juventus man has looked impressive playing alongside Issa Diop, and the two seem to have formed a very solid partnership.
Ogbonna has never been the quickest, but his exceptional ability to read the game, combined with his experience, more than makes up for his lack of pace.
The Italian is really strong in the tackle, and he is a calming influence amongst the Hammers’ back-line.
Balbuena is a decent defender too, but as things stand, Ogbonna seems to be the far more reliable option for Pellegrini.
His stats over the past four games really are rather impressive, via the Premier League’s official website:
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