Why West Ham signing Rob Holding on loan would be a shrewd move
According to The Sun, West Ham have turned their attention towards Rob Holding of Arsenal after they pulled out of the chase for James Tarkowski. The club felt priced out of the deal and are now mulling over a lucrative loan deal for Rob holding.
The Hammers are said to be working on a deal that would cover his wages and add some more cash to sweeten the deal for Arsenal.
Profile
The 24-year-old English defender started his youth career at Bolton Wanderers in 2003 and progressed through the ranks to get promoted to the first-team.
In 2014, he was sent on loan to Bury for a season but made just the one appearance for them. After returning, he managed to slot in Bolton’s defence and appeared 30 times for them in 2015-16.
He joined Arsenal in 2016 but hasn’t featured for them on a regular basis. In four seasons, he has played a total of 80 games for the club and featured 10 times for the Arsenal U-23 side. He can point to the fact that his ACL injury in 2018 kept him out for a good six months (source – Transfermarkt).
The defender is yet to feature for England but has made 5 appearances for the U-21 side.
Are West ham making a wise move in signing Holding?
Holding represents a safe option. Despite the injury problems, Holding is a solid defender and when you consider that it is just a loan deal with some extra fees, it doesn’t look too bad for West Ham.
Arsenal have two new centre-backs on their books. While Holding still can turn things around, a spell away from the Gunners and at a lower level club would do him some good.
Read more
- Why West ham should keep hold of Arthur Masuaku
- Why West Ham should make a move for Mykola Matviyenko
Verdict
Arsenal currently have 8 players in central defence. A loan deal for Holding works for all parties involved.
Arsenal can manage to get a player off their books, at least on a temporary basis. West Ham get a solid player without significant transfer costs, and can think about making the deal permanent if the loan deal works out well. Most importantly, Rob Holding gets a fresh start at a different club.
