Report: West Ham register interest in signing Rasmus Kristensen

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According to a report from the Independent, West Ham have registered an interest in signing RB Salzburg ace Rasmus Kristensen.

Right-back is an area where the Hammers really need to strengthen. Pablo Zabaleta is on the wrong side of 35, and is leaving in the summer anyway.

And Ryan Fredericks, who is currently injured, has failed to impress for West Ham since moving to the London Stadium from Fulham in the summer of 2018.

It really is an area of weakness for West Ham, and the Independent claims that they are looking to solve that problem by bringing Danish starlet Rasmus Kristensen to the club.

Good signing?

The 22-year-old has made 17 appearances for RB Salzburg this season, racking up one assist in the process.

He moved to the Austrian club from Ajax in the summer, where he was part of the squad that won the Eredivisie title.

The Dane is a solid defender, as the following stats highlight. In six Champions League appearances this term, he has averaged 3.3 tackles, 0.8 interceptions, 3.2 clearances and 0.5 blocks (Who Scored).

In those games, Kristensen didn’t offer much going forward, however, with no goals or assists, and only a 68.8 per cent pass completion rate (Who Scored).

David Moyes needs to add an attacking right-back to his squad this month. The Hammers have absolutely no attacking drive down the right-hand side. Fredericks has a lot of pace, but seldom uses it to good effect.

And Zabaleta is far from quick.

And judging by the RB Salzburg starlet’s statistics in the Champions League, he is far from an attacking full-back.

The Denmark under-21 international is still young of course, so he has plenty of years left ahead of him with which to improve.

It might just be too much of a risk for West Ham to sign him this month, however.

Kristensen is a totally unproven commodity in the Premier League. And considering the fact that the Hammers need more of an attack-minded right-back, avoiding a move for the Dane might just be the smart play.