West Ham United manager David Moyes may well be concerned by the rumours liking Craig Dawson with a move away from the club.
According to transfer insider Dean Jones (via GIVEMESPORT), the centre-back could be on his way out of the club in the winter with the club said to be ready to respect his wishes should be want an exit.
If Dawson was to leave, this could have some big consequences on the team. TIF has decided to look at what they could be.
Missed opportunity?
Recently, Dan-Axel Zagadou was linked with a move to West Ham as he was available to pick up for free. However, it was reported that the club didn’t want to sign the free agent as it would take him too long to rebuild his fitness up.
Since then, the centre-back has instead committed his future to German outfit Stuttgart, thus putting an end to any possible Hammers move.
But of course, should Dawson leave West Ham this winter, they will suddenly be one defender lighter. Had they signed Zagadou, this wouldn’t be an issue, and he would have had months to regain his fitness, so that wouldn’t be an issue either.
Transfer repercussions
Considering Dawson played 34 times in the Premier League last season, if he is to leave this January Moyes will quite likely want to bring in a replacement. This is proven by the fact that Jan Bednarek was lined up as an alternative to bring in when Dawson was close to joining Aston Villa or Wolves in the summer.
With Bednarek joining Villa, though, he is off the market. As well as that, Zagadou is no longer available and it’s hard to imagine anyone of that quality – with so much Champions League experience at such a young age – would be available at a price.
Seeing as the club already spent big this summer, well over £150m, there might not be that much left in the transfer kitty, and so if Dawson does leave, the Premier League side may have to put off investment in other areas of the pitch as to be able to afford a reinforcement at centre-back.
Would you be sad to see Craig Dawson leave this winter?
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TIF thoughts on Craig Dawson and West Ham…
As is made clear above, Dawson has been a key player for Moyes in recent seasons and so his absence would be sorely missed. Seeing as he was linked with a £5m transfer away from the club in the summer, it’s likely that the 32-year-old would leave for even less in the winter.
If that is the case, it seems likely that West Ham will have to replace him but with the likes of Zagadou now off the market, it might be hard to find an alternative of that quality for such a price. And so, as a result, the club’s winter spending may be limited to just one new defender.