West Ham should use the January transfer window to identify and sign a long-term replacement for full-back Aaron Cresswell.
That is the view of Frank McAvennie, who believes the 32-year-old is now well past his best.
Despite being with the Hammers since 2014, Cresswell’s underwhelming recent performances have seen him come in for some strong criticism and now the latest name to question his ability is McAvennie.
“I think he’s still making mistakes, Cresswell,” he told West Ham Zone. “Centre half maybe, too. I don’t know.
“I think midfield is pretty much covered. Fornals, Benrahma, you’ve got quality. Lanzini, you’ve got quality players in there. Then you’ve got players like Paqueta, Soucek, Rice. We’ve got enough midfield players definitely.
“And he’s got two strikers now too, with both doing well and the manager doesn’t know who to play. Scamacca looks like he’s getting the number one shirt and long may it continue if he’s scoring goals.
“But if he doesn’t then Antonio will go back in. Your keepers are settled, so I don’t know where. It’s just the back four maybe and a left-back or right-back.
“I know Cresswell is there and he’s done better than I thought because he was awful, he’s done alright, but a good left-back would make all the difference.”
Since joining the Hammers from Tranmere eight years ago, Cresswell, who has just six months left on his deal, has gone on to feature in 311 matches, in all competitions, directly contributing to 45 goals along the way.
Do you agree with McAvennie’s assessment of Cresswell? – Let us know in the comments.