Wednesday, April 20

Diop disaster

Will the last fit centre back please turn out the lights? Now we learn that Issa Diop's late knock against Burnley is likely to keep him out for the rest of the season, leaving the stalwart Craig Dawson as West Ham's only fit centre back (is it possible to encase him in bubblewrap?). Without Ogbonna, Zouma and Diop David Moyes has limited options. One might be to shift Ben Johnson to the middle and play Coufal and Cresswell as full-backs. Ben looks to have the physique to do the job, though is untested in the role. 

Another idea might be to promote young Ajibola Alese or Jamal Baptiste — Alese looked promising in the game against Zagreb, but is obviously very inexperienced to play in a Europa League semi-final. Moving Declan Rice back would work, though would deprive the side of its engine in midfield and would mean Mark Noble starting matches when he's better using his experience as sub. As for Alex Kral, Moyes clearly doesn't rate him, though he was surely loaned to cover in this type of situation. Clearly there's a lot of thinking for Moyes to do.

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