West Ham United are sweating over Angelo Ogbonna’s injury, as the Italian’s absence could force David Moyes to spend his striker transfer budget on a centre-half, per the Daily Star.
Ogbonna sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury during the Irons’ Premier League win at home to Liverpool on Sunday.
The 33-year-old has been a mainstay of Moyes’ plans so far this term. But fears are growing in east London that his campaign is now over, should Ogbonna require surgery.
Requiring an operation would likely rule Ogbonna out for the next nine-months, and badly hit West Ham’s top-four hopes. So, Moyes could dip into the market for another option.
Moyes already has Craig Dawson and Issa Diop who could feature alongside £30m summer signing Kurt Zouma. Declan Rice can also play at centre-back, but the Irons boss is reluctant to move the 22-year-old out of midfield.
West Ham could have a slightly limited budget to strengthen Moyes’ squad in the January transfer window. A new striker remains a priority, but may now need to spend elsewhere.
The Hammers are yet to replace Sebastien Haller since his £20m move to Ajax last January. Instead, Moyes has relied on Jarrod Bowen and Andriy Yarmolenko stepping in to replace Michail Antonio as and when needed.
Does Moyes need to spend West Ham transfer budget on a CB after Ogbonna injury?
Moyes will hope Ogbonna does not need an operation for his injury and will return before the end of the season to regain his leading role in the West Ham defence beside Zouma.
Ogbonna and left-back Aaron Cresswell are the only members of the Hammers backline to start all 11 Premier League games.
His absence will leave a big gap, while Moyes’ reluctance to play Rice in defence could raise issues with depth. With Diop or Dawson then the only senior depth at centre-back.
Moyes is unlikely to recall Frederik Alves from his Sunderland loan spell to support his more experienced options. The 22-year-old has only featured twice for 34-minutes in League One since joining the Black Cats. He has also not played in the third-tier since September 28.
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