Why West Ham Should Make A Move For West Brom’s Jonny Evans
David Moyes could be looking at a potential reunion with West Bromwich Albion defender Jonny Evans. The duo worked together during their time at Manchester United and the manager is understood to have identified Evans as a potential solution to the leaky Hammers defence. In fact, one might even say that West Ham have struggled with maintaining solidity and consistency at the back in recent times.
The East London club have not had it easy this season. A series of poor performances saw them slump into relegation danger and they are currently sitting at 19th spot. As a result of that, Slaven Bilic got sacked and David Moyes was brought in to work his magic and help the club survive. It will be an uphill task but a major part of that will be to repair the defence and save the club from conceding goals. Barring the 1-1 draw against Leicester City, the Hammers have conceded more than 2 goals in their last few fixtures. These are truly worrisome numbers for a club that is struggling to get out of relegation danger.
They were linked with signing Evans over the summer but the move did not happen. Jose Fonte was brought in during January to address the issues but Bilic’s tendency to plant players out of their natural positions did cause troubles at the back. With Moyes at the helm of things though, it does look less worrying, at least for the near future.
Evans was truly remarkable for West Brom last season as the club steadily climbed up the league table.
He has a good number of years ahead of him and can provide top-class football for a club like West Ham. In 12 appearances for the Baggies so far this season, the player has notched up a goal and has a pass success-rate of 82.3%. He wins about 1.8 aerial duels on an average while making 1.4 tackles, 1.6 interceptions and 0.8 fouls. These numbers are quite impressive and Evans also makes about 4 clearances per game.
The former Manchester United centre-back can bring in some much-needed quality and experience to the Hammers back line and that is exactly what they need in order to establish some stability in their defence. However, the finance alone might prove to be an issue for the Hammers. Considering how important Evans is for the club, the Baggies will not allow him to leave without demanding a hefty amount. They have slapped a £30million price tag on the player and will not allow him to leave for anything less.
Hence, a move could most certainly benefit West Ham if they manage to get their finances in order.