Why West Ham should refrain from signing Rico Henry
According to Football.london, West Ham United are looking to bring in fresh faces in defence and one of the names that are doing the rounds is Rico Henry of Brentford. There are also other names who are being considered such as Bernardo Fernandes and Gonzalo Montiel.
Profile
Rico Henry is a 23-year-old English left-back who currently plays for Brentford in the EFL Championship. He started his career at Walsall back in 2014 and made the switch to Brentford two years later.
Since then, he has been a vital part of the team. He has amassed 88 appearances and played a huge part in Brentford’s push for Premier League promotion last season.
While they fell short by a whisker in the play-off finals to Fulham, Henry played all 46 games for the club in the Championship and the three playoff fixtures as well. (h/t Transfermarkt)
Do West Ham need him?
Currently West Ham have Aaron Cresswell and Arthur Masuaku on their books as specialist left-backs. Yes, they haven’t exactly set the world alight with their performances but the fact remains that West Ham should be targeting a centre-back.
The club are also short on funds and any incoming players need to be backed by player sales. Rico Henry is another left-back. With Cresswell and Masuaku, already at manager David Moyes’ disposal, bringing in another player for the same position, when funds are limited would be a waste of resources by the club.
In addition, there are also the injury issues to be considered as he has a history of long term injuries that have curtailed his game time in the three seasons from 2016 to 2019.
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Verdict
Given that West Ham have two senior options at left-back already, Rico Henry’s transfer isn’t an absolute necessity as there are other areas of the squad that need investment more urgently. Moreover, youngster Ben Johnson can also fill in on the left-side of the defence if there is a need.
Hence, Henry isn’t a player that the club needs at this point. Instead, they must look to reinforce other positions in the squad, such as the centre-back department, rather than wasting funds on another left-back.
