With the January transfer window around the corner, speculation is starting to mount over what players could be leaving West Ham in the new year.
And one player’s name who has come up in recent days is left-back Arthur Masuaku, though his agent Panos Galariotis has confirmed that his client wishes to remain at the London Stadium.
The Breakdown
“It’s true, I received a lot of calls,” Galariotis told Tuttomercatoweb (via HITC). “But Arthur is happy at West Ham and has been convinced by the arrival of Pellegrini that they will have a great season.”
Since joining West Ham from Olympiacos back in 2016, Masuaku has blown hot and cold with his performances.
Going forward, Masuaku might just be one of the best left-backs in the Premier League in terms of getting past a player.
However, defensively, the 25-year-old tends to struggle, with the simplest bit of skill from an opposition winger being enough to do him.
Nevertheless, the words of Masuaku’s agent should come as a massive boost to Pellegrini who currently has quite the full-back dilemma on his hand.
Ryan Fredericks is set to miss the rest of 2018 through injury, while Pablo Zabaleta is expected to leave the London Stadium at the end of the season.
With that in mind, retaining Masuaku could be very important for the club. Bringing in a new right-back — should Zabaleta depart — will be difficult enough. The last thing the Hammers need is to be chasing a left-back on top of that.
Masuaku is far from being the most solid of full-backs but, for now, West Ham would be wise to keep him in their squad.