Why Signing Tom Cairney Will Benefit West Ham United
West Ham United are reportedly interested in a January deal for Fulham captain Tom Cairney, who primarily plays as a central midfielder. A deal of £15m is understood to be on the table for the 27-year-old and given his potential, it seems like the ultimate bargain signing for the Hammers. David Moyes is in dire need of bringing in reinforcements for the East London side and Cairney seems like quite an exciting target.
Getting the Championship outfit to agree to the deal, however, will prove to be a tedious job. The Scot has been a key part of their midfield ever since he joined the club from Blackburn back in 2015. This season, Cairney has appeared 18 times for Fulham and has scored a solitary goal while providing 3 assists. His pass success rate stands at an impressive 91.2% and he could significantly make an impact on Moyes’ squad up front.
The fact that he can also play as an attacking midfielder is likely to be a greater reason for the manager to pursue Cairney. At present, the Hammers are faced with a severe shortage in their attacking options. The likes of Manuel Lanzini, Marko Arnautovic, Michail Antonio, Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho are all out with injury problems and in such a situation, a player like Cairney could prove to be extremely useful.
After spending quite some time dangerously close to the relegation zone, Moyes has managed to bring the club up to the 11th place and that in itself is quite commendable. However, it must be noted that they are still just 4 points ahead of 18th-placed Southampton and in order to truly solidify their position and possibly even progress higher, the club will need a player like Cairney – somebody who is experienced yet agile enough to do the job.
He can be a strong source of creative energy behind the striker and that could help the club improve by leaps and bounds since they have struggled with a dearth of creative activity in the middle of the field. Even once Arnautovic, Lanzini and Carroll return from their injuries, a player like Cairney could massively strengthen their goalscoring chances as the season progresses. They have shown promising signs under Moyes’ watchful eye but to truly get to the next level, the Scottish midfielder could work wonders. Hence, given the requirement at West Ham, Moyes must certainly make a move for the Fulham captain before the January window comes to an end.