West Ham United have been linked with a number of talented young defenders from the continent in recent times. But how about a highly-experienced, been-there-and-done-it Premier League veteran instead?
That appears to be a question some at the London Stadium are asking, as the Hammers reportedly add another, much older and much more familiar name to their list of centre-back targets.
Hammers fanatic and Hollywood hardman Ray Winstone feels a Craig Dawson-like figure is ‘missing’ from this West Ham United team. When you consider that Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo have won only 18 and 11 per cent of their aerial duels, the two-time BAFTA nominee has a point.
No wonder so many goals have been conceded from crosses and corners.
What is your RESPONSE to those Ethan Pinnock links?
Underwhelming? Or Craig Dawson 2.0?
Well, Brentford icon Ethan Pinnock could well be that Dawson-style presence Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are crying out for.
West Ham United linked with Brentford and Premier League stalwart Ethan Pinnock
Toulouse’s Preston-born powerhouse Charlie Cresswell remains a key target for West Ham this month. However, the likes of Newcastle, Man City, Liverpool and Tottenham are reportedly eyeing the ex-Leeds prospect too.
Why would he pick a team seven points from safety with other, safer options on the table?
Lecce have no plans to cash in on Tiago Gabriel, their 20-year-old giant.
Swiss Under-21 captain Roggerio Nyakossi is clearly a player with serious potential, meanwhile. But asking a youngster to make the step up from OH Leuven mid-season would be a big ask indeed.
So while a deal for 32-year-old Ethan Pinnock would hardly smack of ambition, it is worth remembering what many said about Dawson when the Hammers plucked the unfashionable, aging centre-half from relegated Watford in 2020.
He became known, albeit tongue-in-cheek, as Craig ‘Ballon D’Awson’ for a reason.
Pinnock has just over a year left on his Brentford contract. Having played 116 Premier League games for the Bees, he was a mainstay and a load-bearing pillar in the success of Thomas Frank. Pinnock has slipped down the pecking order in the Keith Andrews era, though, making only three top-flight appearances this season.
The Telegraph’s Mike McGrath believes that, with West Ham interested and other suitors likely to emerge from the woodwork, the 26-time Jamaica international will be offered the chance to re-establish himself as a Premier League regular elsewhere.
“Ethan Pinnock [is] emerging as potential January target for West Ham for their survival bid,” McGrath wrote on Friday morning. “The 32-year-old has wealth of Premier League experience over last five seasons at Brentford, and competition [is] expected if made available.”
Charlie Cresswell will be West Ham’s best defender…😍
How can Nuno convince him to join?
Pinnock could be a massive upgrade on Max Kilman
Pinnock, last season, won 82 per cent of his aerial duels.
If Max Kilman is simply too ‘passive’ to be the leader at the back for West Ham, similar concerns are unlikely to be aired around the former Barnsley and Forest Green Rovers colossus. Pinnock’s defensive duel success rate stands at 78 per cent, compared to Kilman’s 12.
Pinnock was also handed the highest rating of any Premier League centre-back by stats specialists WhoScored back in 2022/23, when Brentford finished ninth.
“This is his fifth season, and it’s fair to say he’s been one of our best players over those five seasons. The most consistent and best centre-back,” Frank told the Bees website in May 2024 following a campaign in which the squeaky-clean Pinnock was reported to have committed only four fouls.
“What he’s doing for this team is incredible. I think Ethan is one of the better centre-backs in the Premier League. He’s so efficient.
“He’s made four fouls this season, which is unbelievable. That’s such a low number, even compared to all the other world-class centre-backs in this league. That says everything about him.
“I don’t know how many teams he’s neutralised the striker from the opposition.”
He might lack the long-term potential of a Tiago Gabriel or a Cresswell, but as short-term quick fixes go, Pinnock feels distinctly Craig Dawson-esque.
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