The West Ham United player needs to hit the ground running when he returns from injury.
Ask West Ham United fans which areas of their squad need strengthening in the January transfer window and most will name the right-back and striker positions.
The Hammers have struggled for goals all season while their right-back options have either been extremely disappointing (Alvaro Arbeloa) or extremely unlucky (Sam Byram).
But when it comes to that side of their defence, the latter could still save them the time, effort and expenditure required to bring in a new player midway through a campaign.
The former Leeds United player is currently side-lined with a hamstring injury but he recently told Sky Sports that he was targeting a Boxing Day return.
That would mean Byram has the chance to hit the ground running and prove to his manager Slaven Bilic that he does not need to dip into the transfer market for another full-back.
Byram may be inexperienced when it comes to top flight football, with just 13 appearances for West Ham in all competitions to date, but at 23 the time has come for him to prove he made the right call leaving Leeds just under a year ago.
After all, if West Ham sign another right-back it could severely impact Byram’s chances of making it at the London Stadium.
Alternatively, an impressive few weeks in late December and early January could ensure Bilic delays any decision until the end of the campaign, allowing Byram the next five months to really kick on.
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