Why West Ham should make a move for Tolgay Arslan in January

West Ham were supposed to build after the tenth-placed finish in Manuel Pellegrini’s first season at London Stadium. They may have recovered from the opening day thrashing at the hands of Manchester City, but remain massively inconsistent under Pellegrini.

After a fantastic 2-0 victory over Manchester United at the London Stadium last weekend, the Hammers recently went down to Oxford United in the Carabao Cup. They managed only three attempts on target and conceded four times after the 55th minute with Elliott Moore, Matty Taylor, Tariqe Fosu and Shandon Baptiste on target at a rocking Kassam Stadium.

There seems to be no momentum building at all for West Ham, who clearly have a squad capable of breaking into the top six this season. In Sebastien Haller, Manuel Lanzini, Felipe Anderson, Robert Snodgrass, Andriy Yarmolenko, Albian Ajeti and Michail Antonio, Pellegrini has enough firepower to destroy any Premier League outfit on their day.

But the main problem is they are an attack-heavy side and seem to lack any balance at times. To put things into perspective, the east London outfit are in dire need of midfield reinforcements. Carlos Sanchez has been a total flop at West Ham, Mark Noble is ageing and Jack Wilshere cannot be relied upon to sustain an entire season due to his awful injury record.

The sooner West Ham get rid of Sanchez the better. The Colombian is out of contract next summer, and he certainly will not be offered a new deal. However, the Hammers didn’t replace Pedro Obiang in the summer and the same cannot happen with Sanchez if he departs. That being said, West Ham should go for Fenerbahce midfielder Tolgay Arslan.

Tolgay Arslan, 29, who was a target for West Ham some few years ago, joined Fenerbahce from Turkish rivals Besiktas in January 2019. He has recently returned from an ankle injury that had kept him sidelined for the first four games of the Turkish Super Lig season.

The German-born Turkish midfielder has enjoyed good success in Super Lig and his career has worked out well since the ligament injury he suffered a couple of years ago.

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Tenacious, energetic and a good tackler, Arslan is a combative midfielder who excels in breaking up the play and keeping things tight from the deep.

The 29-year-old’s intelligence and ability to read the game coupled with his technical skills to pick a pass in the final third make him a decent central midfielder. He can also pass the ball accurately from midfield as well as provide adequate protection for the backline.

Verdict

The acquisition of a player of Arslan’s experience and quality will undeniably prove good for West Ham. He will not only add more energy to Pellegrini’s midfield but will also improve the overall depth of the Hammers squad.