David Sullivan must strive to offload Ryan Fredericks in the January window amid reports David Moyes could look to offload the West Ham United full-back.
What’s the word?
According to football.london, Fredericks is among a clutch of players whose futures at the London Stadium are increasingly at risk approaching the January transfer window as Moyes continues to stamp his mark on a side heavily assembled by Manuel Pellegrini.
The Hammers are not blessed with the largest senior fold with just 23 players named in their Premier League squad, but the likes of Fredericks, Felipe Anderson and Andriy Yarmolenko are tipped for a fraught few weeks as West Ham were forced to conduct their business on a sell-to-buy basis this summer.
Anderson and Yarmolenko each found their place in the starting line-up dissipate following Moyes’ return to east London, while the £5.4million arrival of Vladimir Coufal last month saw Fredericks cast aside following a hamstring injury despite a strong start to the season.
Fredericks is now tipped for Moyes’ axe should the Scottish coach look to raise funds in the winter, with the January window a prime chance to land a suitable fee for the former Fulham defender whose £40,000-per-week contract expires in 19-months.
Moyes is expected to make do without the need for another right-back going forward as young hotshot Ben Johnson is seen as a worthy understudy for Coufal, who has started all five of the Irons’ Premier League fixtures since joining from Slavia Prague.
Sullivan’s easy call
If Moyes has decided that Coufal and Johnson carry enough quality to hold down the right-back position for the remainder of the season, West Ham co-owner and Chairman Sullivan has an easy call to make regarding Fredericks’ future and that is to sell the 28-year-old as soon as possible.
The verdict will come as a cruel blow for Fredericks, who would have expected to regain his place in the starting line-up upon his return from the hamstring injury sustained at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers in September.
But Coufal’s performances have made it impossible for Moyes to bench the 28-year-old, who is now averaging more tackles (3.0) than Fredericks (1.18), plus ground duels won (4.2 to 1.57), accurate long balls (1.8 to 0.79), shots blocked (0.2 to 0.0) and a higher number of successful dribbles (0.4 to 0.39) per Premier League appearance, per SofaScore.
West Ham would still be able to recoup a worthy fee for Fredericks in January, with the former England U19 international bettering Coufal for interceptions (1.97 to 1.4), clearances (3.14 to 2.2), accurate crosses (1.18 to 1.0), accurate final third passes (9.83 to 6.0) and aerial duels won (2.36 to 1.2) per game.
Pellegrini also expected the future to hold Fredericks’ best years when he acquired the £3.6m-rated right-back on a free transfer from Fulham just a year-and-a-half ago.
“Ryan has good experience, with more than 150 senior appearances already but, at 25, he is still a young player with his best years ahead of him,” the Chilean said in 2018, via quotes by BBC Sport.
AND in other news, West Ham’s “real magician” has just six weeks to prove David Moyes does not need his £17m “complete” target.