David Moyes could be using young midfielder Josh Cullen as a pawn in a game of chess with the West Ham United owners.
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West Ham are the only club in the entire Premier League not to have brought in a new face this summer.
While co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold have been pleading poverty over the global health crisis, West Ham’s Prem rivals have taken spending near to £1 billion.
West Ham have started the season in the worst possible way, with back-to-back defeats.
And Moyes has a severe lack of quality and squad depth in certain key positions.
Academy graduate a rare positive in unhappy start to season
One of those is central midfield with only Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek and the ageing Mark Noble as reliable options.
After several spells out on loan – and despite an uncertain future at the club – academy graduate Josh Cullen looked set to break through this season.
Indeed some impressive performances in pre-season and in the Carabao Cup win over Charlton suggested Cullen was the ideal back-up.
But West Ham boss Moyes has shocked fans and pundits by snubbing the 24-year-old for both Premier League squads so far.
Former West Ham striker Ian Wright recently told BBC’s Match of the Day he was baffled by Moyes’s Cullen snub.
So too are Hammers fans.
Is Moyes sending a message to owners with Cullen snub?
But is Moyes using Cullen to send a message to Sullivan and Gold over transfers?
At the weekend Moyes spoke out, saying he doesn’t just want defenders this summer.
The Hammers boss revealed he also wants a midfielder and players in other positions too.
If he had started integrating Cullen in the Premier League squad, Sullivan and Gold may well have told Moyes he does not need a new midfielder.
The reality is even with Cullen West Ham need much more variety and depth in midfield.
Take a look at Everton or Wolves and the depth of their squads in that department.
‘I don’t just want centre-halves I want midfielders too’
But by snubbing the popular academy graduate, it sends a clear message to Sullivan and Gold that he needs reinforcements.
Moyes playing a cunning game
If Sullivan and Gold were left in any doubt about the Cullen snub, Moyes hit his point home by – somewhat unusually for him – speaking openly with the press about transfers over the weekend.
“Maybe I could strengthen in midfield and give the opportunity to free up Declan (Rice) to play as a defender if I needed to,” Moyes told the press (whufc.com).
“I don’t just want centre-halves. I want other positions as well,” Moyes added (Evening Standard).
West Ham have been linked with a surprise move for ex Everton midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye (Le10Sport).
Of course Moyes may not think Cullen is up to it.
But either way the message is clear – West Ham need more midfielders. Whether the owners listen is another matter entirely.
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