West Ham United have seemingly made bringing in a central midfielder or two their top priority in the remainder of the transfer window after sanctioning Declan Rice’s £100m-plus move to Arsenal.
The Europa Conference League winners have been slow off the mark so far in terms of incoming activity, but David Moyes looks set to replenish his squad in the coming weeks.
Who could replace Declan Rice?
It is no coincidence that West Ham have been linked with a number of central midfielders over the past month or so, including the likes of Joao Palhinha, James Ward-Prowse and Denis Zakaria.
United have made an approach for Ajax ace Edson Alvarez, according to The Athletic, while The Independent reports that the east London side are now ready to step up their interest in Manchester United’s Scott McTominay.
West Ham have plenty of money to spend following Rice’s exit – although that will not necessarily be a good thing when it comes to negotiating with other clubs – but it will take a fee in the region of £50m to prise McTominay away from Old Trafford.
What kind of player is Scott McTominay?
McTominay has spent six seasons as a first-team regular for Man United and featured 39 times in all competitions last season, albeit starting just 16 of those matches.
The Scotland international’s stock has fallen somewhat, with last season the first time since 2019-20 he made fewer than 30 appearances in the Premier League.
However, McTominay still showed what he is capable of when called upon, especially in terms of the defensive aspects of the game. The 26-year-old averaged 3.12 clearances per 90 and won 2.84 aerials per 90, as per FBref, which ranks him among the top 1% and 2% of all midfielders across Europe’s top five leagues respectively.
The 6 foot 4 brute also added goals to his game in the second half of the season, scoring six times in his final 11 outings for club and country, though all but one of those goals came for Scotland.
The Lancaster native was given more of a licence to get forward by Scotland boss Steve Clarke, which may also be the case under his compatriot, Moyes at the London Stadium.
Should the Irons also get a deal over the line for Alvarez, it could provide United with a dream central-midfield partnership. Alvarez himself thrives in the defensive side of the game, but he is also capable of keeping things ticking over.
Indeed, the Mexico international ranked ninth in the whole of Eredivisie last season for passes completed per 90 (74.5) and fifth for pass-completion percentage (88.7).
Assuming Moyes sticks with the 4-2-3-1 formation favoured throughout last season, Alvarez and McTominay could sit in front of the back four, with the latter given a little more freedom to carry the ball forward.
For while McTominay’s stock has fallen over the past season or so, it was less than three years ago he was being described as a “physical monster” by then-United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Should West Ham follow up their initial interest in McTominay, they will have the opportunity to unleash the ‘monster’ in what could be an exciting new-look midfield this coming season.
