In-the-know podcaster @ExWHUemployee has recently aired some criticism of West Ham United defender Aaron Cresswell.
The left-back has been a Hammers player since the summer of 2014 after he made a £4.28m switch from now-League One club Ipswich Town (per Transfermarkt).
Cresswell has made 213 appearances for the Irons in total, during which he has scored eight goals and provided 19 assists for teammates.
In David Moyes’ outfit’s opening game of the 2020/21 Premier League season against Newcastle United, the £5.85m-rated defender was awarded a weak 5/10 match rating by Football.london.
So, in the latest episode of The West Ham Way Podcast, @ExWHUemployee criticised Cresswell when discussing West Ham’s defence.
He said: “The defence is just so exposed. I mean, let’s be honest, we’ve had Cresswell at left-back and once upon a time he was a good player, when we were at Upton Park – which seems so long ago – he was one of our best players, but since he got an injury, he’s not been the same, but we’ve never replaced him.
“And [Ryan] Fredericks, I thought had one of his better games [against Newcastle], which isn’t saying much, but that’s because he created chances.
“Defensively, [it] wasn’t great. [Issa] Diop seems to have gone massively off the boil.”
TIF Thoughts…
As can be seen in what the in-the-know podcaster had to say, evidently he believes that most of the Hammers’ defensive line deserves criticism but he particularly focused on Cresswell.
Do West Ham need to replace Aaron Cresswell?
No, he's not that bad
Yes, he's not good enough
Certainly, last season, the left-back was in uninspiring form for the Hammers as he delivered a weak 6.62/10 average rating which meant that he was only West Ham’s joint-13th-best player (per WhoScored).
The 2019/20 campaign was, in fact, the second-worst full season which the 30-year-old left-back has delivered for the Irons, with only a 6.46/10 average rating during the 2016/17 Premier League season being worse.
So, hopefully, for Cresswell and West Ham fans, the defender can re-find his form from his first season with the Hammers when he earned a 6.85/10 average rating during the 2014/15 campaign.