West Ham made a lot of signings in the summer transfer window, but failed to address the left back position. The Hammers will need to invest in one sooner rather than later with Aaron Creswell aged 34 while Emerson is also 30 now.
Julen Lopetegui’s role is safe for the time being following his side’s 2-1 win over Manchester United and barring any major nosedive in form, the Spaniard should remain in charge for the foreseeable future, which means he can plan for the transfer window in January.
Having said that, it has been reported by journalist Ekrem Konur that West Ham are keen on signing Chelsea star Ben Chilwell next year after he fell out of favour since Enzo Maresca’s appointment as the Blues’ head coach.
The former Leicester City star has lost his place to Marc Cucurella while Renato Veiga has been preferred to him as a secondary option. While a transfer did not materialise in the summer, Chilwell’s future could be sorted out in the winter with a move highly likely given there doesn’t appear to be a route back into Maresca’s plans.
Chilwell would be a great signing
Ben Chilwell is valued at just £18 million on Transfermarkt and is a terrific player. He has won the Champions League during his time at Chelsea having been one of the world’s best left backs under Thomas Tuchel. At the age of 27, there is every reason to believe he has long enough time in his career to succeed at West Ham.
He will be a good medium-term replacement for Chilwell and is a better player than Emerson too. The Italian incidentally left Chelsea for West Ham after losing his place to the Englishman. A deal could also be brokered for cheap given that Chelsea will want to offload the defender’s wage liability off their books.
It will be interesting to see if Lopetegui is supported with his wishes in the winter but it goes without saying that Chilwell would be a far superior option as compared to either of West Ham’s current left backs.
