Journalist Jonty Colman has claimed that West Ham United defender Aaron Cresswell could be dropped after a poor recent display.
This week, the Hammers played the second leg of their Europa Conference League qualifying match and cruised to a 3-0 win over Viborg FF away from home, claiming a 6-1 win on aggregate.
On the night, Gianluca Scamacca opened the scoring and then further goals from Said Benrahma and Tomas Soucek helped see off the opposition with ease.
Despite the routine victory, it seems as though not everyone had the easiest of games. Indeed, in the eyes of Colman, left-back Cresswell ‘had some difficulties’ throughout and he could lose his spot in the West Ham team as a potential consequence.
In the football.london player ratings, the journalist gave his explanations on what he deemed a 6/10 performance, writing: “Captain for the night was Aaron Cresswell, in the absence of Declan Rice. Like Rice, Cresswell missed the first leg through suspension. Long-term, his spot at left-back looks under threat following Emerson’s £13million arrival and against Viborg, he had some difficulties.
“Marking Ibrahim Said, who did not have a visa for the first leg, Cresswell struggled at times, and David Moyes was not best pleased with him on a few occasions when opting to pass inside as opposed to working the ball down the line to Pablo Fornals. Booked for a coming together with Said in the second half, having been sent off in his previous two appearances in Europe. Later made up for earlier errors when his cross eventually led to the Hammers’ third goal of the night.”
Will Emerson be a success at West Ham?
Yes
No
It’s interesting to note Colman spot that manager David Moyes was also not happy with the defender’s on-field decisions too, which certainly won’t bode well for Cresswell with a new man coming in to rival him for that left-back spot in the team.
Indeed, Emerson has just joined the Hammers from Chelsea on a four-year contract, with a one-year option – for a reported £13m plus £2m in add-ons – and so Moyes has a good option to swap in if he feels as though the current fullback is underperforming.
According to SofaScore, Cresswell was dribbled past one, which is the joint most in the West Ham team, was caught offside once, won just one out of four ground duels, and gave away two fouls (picking up one yellow card) – hardly the most inspiring set of statistics.
All in all, it looks like the defender may have to step up soon or he could find himself on the bench.