For the first time this season, Craig Dawson stepped onto the pitch in claret-and-blue during the final stages of West Ham United’s 3-1 UEFA Conference League victory over FCSB last week.
An injury had kept the veteran centre-half out of David Moyes’ side for the first month of the campaign. But it’s testament to West Ham’s new-found defensive depth that Dawson – one of the club’s most consistent and reliable performers during Moyes’ second spell at the London Stadium – is unlikely to be parachuted immediately into the starting XI when he regains full fitness.
West Ham did not complete the £12 million signing of Germany international Thilo Kehrer with the intention of utilising the former PSG stalwart from the bench. Kehrer, despite a couple of high-profile errors in his early Hammers career, already appears to have struck up an impressive understanding with the excellent Kurt Zouma.
Moyes also has Nayef Aguerd, his £27 million summer addition, set to return from ankle surgery. Dan-Axel Zagadou could be about to add further competition for a place in Moyes’ XI too; the free-agent having been offered a four-year deal in the English capital. West Ham, reports say, are in pole position to sign the one-time Dortmund starlet despite interest from Lyon.
So where does this leave Dawson? Or, to give him the the nickname picked up during West Ham’s run to the Europa League semi-finals, ‘Ballon D’Awson’? Presuming Zagadou arrives, Dawson could potentially go from one of Moyes’ first picks to fifth in West Ham’s pecking order. Life, as they say, comes at you fast.
Should Craig Dawson have left West Ham United?
Of course, opportunities should still present themselves for Dawson between now and January. West Ham’s Conference League commitments will stretch Moyes’ squad to it’s limits. But if Dawson does find himself stuck on the bench over the next couple of months, missing out on a deadline day move to Aston Villa or Wolverhampton Wanderers could leave a pang of regret in the pits of his stomach.
“Wolves had made an offer. I think it came quite close but it didn’t get over the line,” Moyes admitted last week; Bruno Lage’s side failing to meet West Ham’s £7 million asking price.
Of course, there is no guarantee that Dawson would have found game time easier at Wolves or Villa. Bruno Lage has instilled a four-man backline at Molineux this season; Max Kilman and Nathan Collins firmly established as the first picks. Aston Villa, meanwhile, are likely to have viewed Dawson as competition for Ezri Konsa and Tyrone Mings, rather than a guaranteed starter.
The former West Brom stalwart, per Sky, was keen on a return to the Midlands. And if Dawson does indeed find himself sliding down West Ham’s pecking order, this saga is likely to return with a vengeance in January.
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