Manuel Pellegrini spoke to reporters today, and admitted that he is concerned by West Ham’s defensive frailties heading into the new campaign.
The Hammers have spent big this summer on attack-minded players. They’ve splashed out just under £70 million on Sebastien Haller and Pablo Fornals.
Issa Diop and Fabian Balbuena are clearly Pellegrini’s first-choice centre-backs.
But it could be argued that Angelo Ogbonna and Winston Reid are sub-standard deputies.
West Ham have been linked with plenty of centre-backs, including the likes of Aaron Long, Gary Cahill and Guillermo Maripan.
And news broke this morning that the east London outfit are closing in on a deal to sign Goncalo Cardoso from Boavista (Sky Sports).
The Portuguese youngster is just 18-years-old, however, so he surely won’t be able to make an immediate impact.
Perhaps West Ham should be targeting a more established defender instead.
Pellegrini’s comments regarding his side’s defending will certainly not fill the club’s supporters with confidence.
The Chilean told the club’s official website:
“I am very happy with the amount of goals we are scoring, but a little bit worried about the amount of goals we are conceding.”
West Ham have until Thursday to strengthen their back-line. And if they don’t, they could be in for a long and hard season ahead.
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