OPINION
If there is one thing that West Ham United need to seriously address, it is the lack of quality that they currently have at left-back.
Arthur Masuaku and Aaron Cresswell frequent the position at the moment, but neither player has been much to shout about after some poor displays.
Masuaku has had a bit of a mare recently, and was heavily criticised after their 1-0 loss to Brighton for losing Glenn Murray, who was able to tap home the winner at the Amex.
However, the player who is supposed to be in competition with Masuaku is not really up to the job either.
Cresswell could be in contention to get the nod over Masuaku for their next fixture – and if he does feature, then he will have to play out of his skin to salvage what is left of his West Ham career.
Manuel Pellegrini may have no choice but to play Cresswell after Masuaku’s recent calamities, but in an ideal world, the Chilean would not want to play either of them.
He has no choice in the matter – but this could be an opportunity that could help revive Cresswell’s prospects.
If he does not make the most of the chance that could potentially be given to him, then Cresswell could be on the chopping block come January.
That is the last thing that he would want to happen, so it is now or never for the £50,000-a-week [Spotrac] man.
He has been battling to regain his place back in the first team ever since he was caught out for Adama Traore’s match-winning goal when Wolves beat the Hammers 1-0 earlier in the season.
But now is the chance to redeem himself – and Cresswell must play out of his skin to prove to Pellegrini that he is worthy of being on the pitch.