'Most logical replacement' for Declan Rice picked as West Ham transfer conundrum continues

The Hammers returned from Prague with the Europa Conference League and, despite a disappointing domestic campaign, supporters were buzzing to have ended a long wait for silverware.

Fast forward to the present day, and the memorable evening at the Fortuna Arena is a bygone memory.

Declan Rice, who captained the Hammers to glory in June, has departed for Arsenal and, despite receiving a hefty fee for the England international, West Ham are yet to reinvest in the squad.

They have attempted to fill the void left by Rice's departure, that goes without saying.

West Ham have been linked with an abundance of central midfielders, ranging from James Ward-Prowse and Scott McTominay, to Conor Gallagher and Edson Alvarez. And yet, the Hammers have been rebuffed in their efforts to add to the midfield.

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Southampton are standing firm of their £50million valuation of captain Ward-Prowse despite their relegation, yet of the four rumoured targets for David Moyes' side, the consensus is that Alvarez is the most like-for-like replacement for Rice.

Borussia Dortmund had been credited with an interest in the Mexican, who has since emerged as a target for Chelsea, and for good reason.

Only Arsenal newboy Jurrien Timber (80.2) averaged more passes per game than Alvarez (77.3) in the Eredivisie last season, with the 25-year-old more than capable of finding a teammate once he has won possession.

Crucially Alvarez isn't one to shy away from his defensive responsibilities. The Mexico international chipped in with 2.5 tackles per 90 in the Eredivisie last season, and returned a modest 71.7% tackle success rate.

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No player received more in the Eredivisie last season (10) that is a further testament to the desire to get stuck in, and this will sit well with West Ham fans.

Importantly is that he'll likely slot in seamlessly at the base of the West Ham midfield. Ajax may have used a 4-3-3 formation as their go-to in an admittedly disappointing Eredivisie campaign, but the system is not too dissimilar to the 4-2-3-1 setup Moyes prefers.

That's not to say Ward-Prowse, McTominay and Gallagher are bad players, but that Alvarez is far and away the best fit for the system Moyes will seek to deploy, and the most logical replacement for Rice.

Ward-Prowse isn't afraid to throw his weight around when off the ball, however he's far more effective in possession. The idea would likely be for Tomas Soucek to operate as the ball winner in the partnership, and this would give the Saints skipper the chance to focus his efforts on getting the ball upfield.

Were Moyes to look to one of McTominay or Gallagher as the midfielder to succeed Rice, then it would prove a waste of their talent and, importantly, significantly weaken West Ham.

The pair are better suited when operating alongside a midfield destroyer, but, vitally, when afforded the chance to break forward and drive their team on.

At the base of the midfield, chances to get upfield would be few and far between, especially with last summer's club-record signing Lucas Paqueta already carrying out a similar role.

That being said, with European football on offer at the London Stadium, and the need to avoid another potential relegation scrap, West Ham do need strength in depth in key areas, and they have the financial backing to be able to bring in the right players to bolster in the middle of the park.

The priority, though, is Rice's replacement, and so West Ham would be wise to push for Alvarez before he ends up elsewhere.

With time also running out, a further issue for West Ham is that they need to add bodies to other key areas.

Centre-back is another position that Moyes is looking to reinforce, and that shouldn't come as a surprise.

A problem for West Ham last season stemmed from injuries in defence. Kurt Zouma made 24 league appearances for the west London side in 2022/23, the most of any centre-back for the club.

Nayef Aguerd (17), Thilo Kehrer (15) and Angelo Ogbonna (13) round off the most used centre-backs by Moyes last term. Kehrer, though, looked out of his depth in the Premier League, while at 35 years of age and on the back of a serious knee injury 18 months, Ogbonna can't be relied upon so frequently in the coming campaign to help ease their defensive concerns.

Harry Maguire is another Manchester United player linked with a summer switch to West Ham, but the club's dallying over the England international is proving a huge hindrance.

Moyes needs his players through the London Stadium doors sooner rather than later so he can quickly forge out a solid centre-back partnership to help balance a number of competitions. With a new central midfield pairing in the offing, it's important West Ham dip into the market to improve at the back.

In attack, too, West Ham are light on options. Gianluca Scamacca's impending return to Italy would leave Moyes with just Michail Antonio and Danny Ings as his primary striking options.

Both are injury prone and the wrong side of 30, so investment on the frontline is necessary for the Hammers.

Given Jarrod Bowen and Said Benrahma were West Ham's top scorers with six league goals each last season, it adds weight to the need to improve in attack. If they are relying solely on Antonio to lead the charge, then West Ham will be in trouble.

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So plenty of work still to be done and time is running out. West Ham can ill-afford to remain stagnant in the market and while teams will be aware they'll be flush for cash following Rice's move to Arsenal, they'll likely have to pay a premium on new additions to bolster their chances of building upon their Europa Conference League success.

As welcomed as silverware was, however, they did finish just six points above the relegation zone. A lack of investment would see that shorten next season unless they start to make serious moves in the market.