You never want to lose an experienced player who’s a regular part of the side, but sometimes it can be a blessing if it allows a youngster to break through and impress.
Fabian Balbuena isn’t an automatic starter for West Ham just now but he plays regularly enough, while you also get the feeling that he’s a safe pair of hands who will rarely let you down so he’s a good player to have around.
His contract is up at the end of the season so his future isn’t clear, but a report from Claret and Hugh has indicated that he’s decided to leave even if he’s offered a new deal.
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That means a replacement needs to be found, but it’s suggested that David Moyes is a huge fan of Frederick Alves who arrived in January, so it could be a simple case of promoting him to the first team.
He’s already appeared on the bench a few times so he’s clearly close to a debut, and at least the timing of Balbuena’s decision gives Moyes some time to figure this out.
He won’t want to chuck Alves straight into the team but there’s time to evaluate him properly and to get him into the team for some more experience, and a further signing can then be made in the summer if he’s not up to the task yet and Balbuena does actually go.