West Ham desperately need to sign a new defender in the January transfer window.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have one of the worst defensive records in the Premier League this season, and it needs to be addressed quickly.
West Ham have been linked with a number of defenders this January and are expected to sign at least one in the coming weeks.
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Traore? El Karouani? Strand Larsen?
Max Kilman’s dismal display against Brighton proves West Ham need reinforcements
Kilman has struggled for West Ham this season, but due to the lack of quality alternatives, has been a first-team regular.
However, he has often failed to live up to the expectations of a £40million signing and is already looking like he’s one of the biggest mistakes the club have made in the transfer window in recent seasons.
Against Brighton on Tuesday, a game where West Ham played out a 2-2 draw, the English defender once again made the headlines for the wrong reasons.
Points shared at the London Stadium ❌
How do you feel as West Ham drop MORE points?
While fans have become accustomed to seeing him struggle to string passes from the back and favouring the route one approach, his defending was the main topic of discussion.
At a stage when the Hammers were leading 1-0, he unnecessarily threw himself to the ground, made contact with Yankuba Minteh’s leg without getting the ball, and gave away a penalty.
Danny Welbeck converted from the resulting spot kick to equalise.
These kinds of brain-dead actions are precisely why Kilman cannot continue starting for West Ham.
Will West Ham now ramp up their search for a new defender?
It seems inevitable that the Hammers will look to bring in a new centre-back as soon as they can.
West Ham like Charlie Cresswell and they know what Toulouse want to part ways with him.
Bringing him to the London Stadium would be a wise decision as he would arguably be their best centre-back and would shore up the back line significantly.
He’s good in the air and has impeccable positioning, so it would make sense to bring him to the club.
Looking at how Kilman has played and how Konstantinos Mavropanos performs in his stead, signing Cresswell imminently is a no-brainer.
Fans will be hoping that the hierarchy move heaven and earth to bring in a new defender before the second week of January.
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