David Moyes has switched sights to new Premier League centre back target claims West Ham insider in the wake of Angelo Ogbonna injury.
West Ham are flying this season and are fighting on all fronts.
Moyes’s side are third in the Premier League with almost a third of the season gone.
And the Hammers could go joint top with victory at Wolves next weekend.
West Ham are on the brink of qualifying for the Europa League last 16 and are one game from a Carabao Cup semi-final.
But Moyes suffered a big blow in the 3-2 win over Liverpool after Ogbonna injured his ACL.
The injury could rule the Italian defender out for the rest of West Ham’s jam-packed season.
Ogbonna is one of West Ham’s big leaders on and off the pitch. And the impact of his absence should not be underestimated.
West Ham do have Craig Dawson and Issa Diop in reserve. But while both had looked excellent when given their chance the season, West Ham fans – and apparently Moyes – saw enough in the draw at Genk to feel a new centre back will be needed in January.
West Ham have been linked with Burnley star James Tarkowski again since Ogbonna’s injury.
Newcastle have also been linked with Tarkowski, who is out of contract in the summer, and many feel that move is more likely as it is well known the defender would prefer to remain in the north.
David Moyes has switched sights to new Premier League centre back target claims West Ham insider
Now West Ham insiders Claret and Hugh claim Moyes has switched sights to Tarkowski’s Burnley teammate Ben Mee.
The Clarets skipper is also out of contract in the summer.
And Claret and Hugh claims Moyes is considering a potential move that would bolster his backline in the same vein as the signing of Craig Dawson from Watford.
Moyes always does his due diligence on potential signings and focuses as much on a player’s character and professionalism as their ability.
Mee has been a consummate professional at Burnley and has made nearly 400 appearances for the Turf Moor outfit since signing from Man City in 2012.
“There is a feeling that Mee will be available for a knock-down fee because his contract is expiring and he has oodles of Premier League experience, too,” Claret and Hugh report.
At 32, Mee is the wrong side of 30 but plenty experienced.
Moyes is known to rate young West Ham academy star Jamal Baptiste very highly.
So it could be the Scot wants someone ready to go like Mee to fill the unfortunate gap Ogbonna has left behind.
That will give the West Ham boss breathing space to blood Baptiste when he sees fit rather than being forced to out of necessity should the situation arise.
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