West Ham are in real trouble at the moment.
David Moyes’s men are deeply entrenched in a relegation battle, and are currently sitting in 18th place in the Premier League table, one point adrift of safety.
The Hammers are an absolute mess defensively.
They are leaking goals for fun. And that could end up costing them their Premier League status.
Angelo Ogbonna is arguably the only centre-back who has emerged from the first 25 Premier League games with any credit whatsoever.
Issa Diop and Fabian Balbuena have been extremely poor this season, whilst Winston Reid is set to join MLS side Nashville SC on loan (Football Insider).
Diop has made 19 appearances this season for West Ham, and they have conceded 35 goals in those games. Balbuena, meanwhile, has played 13 games, with 22 goals being shipped in the process.
So is it time that Moyes gave Goncalo Cardoso a chance?
The 19-year-old joined the Hammers from Boavista in the summer for around £2.6 million (Football.London).
The Portuguese youngster is still yet to make a senior appearance for West Ham. Cardoso has made 13 appearances for the club’s under-23’s, however. And he has really impressed, with one goal and three assists to his name.
Sure, he is inexperienced, and promotion to the first-team starting XI could be a real baptism of fire for the former Boavista man. But would he really be a worse option than Diop or Balbuena at the moment?
Cardoso stands at 6ft 2in tall, and is very strong in the air.
During his last season with Boavista, in 15 appearances, Cardoso won an average of 2.7 aerial duels per game, which was more than both Diop and Balbuena in the 2018/19 campaign (Who Scored).
The 19-year-old also made an average of 4.1 clearances per game in those outings (Who Scored).
He describes himself as an aggressive, ball-playing centre-back, as quoted by the Daily Mail:
“I’m an aggressive player, a little bit different on the pitch than off it. I’m calm, and I like to have the ball and build the game from the back. I’m here to work and to help the team reach their goals.”
It might be somewhat of a risk bringing Cardoso into the side now considering West Ham’s current problems. But it could also end up being an inspired decision.
Moyes needs to be brave and give the Portuguese youngster a chance.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
