West Ham United's Angelo Ogbonna celebrates after the match
West Ham United defender Angelo Ogbonna has been praised by The Athletic’s Roshane Thomas for his performances in recent weeks.
The Lowdown: West Ham’s defensive options
Irons manager David Moyes has not been able to select Kurt Zouma of late, with the Frenchman suffering a hamstring injury, while Craig Dawson was sold to Wolverhampton Wanderers for £3.3m in January.
As such, Ogbonna has returned to the starting XI, appearing for the full 90 minutes in four of the Hammers’ last five Premier League matches, and his performances have impressed Thomas.
The Latest: Ogbonna praised
Taking to Twitter in the wake of West Ham’s 1-1 draw away to high-flying Newcastle United at the weekend, the journalist reserved a ‘special mention’ for Ogbonna over his recent displays.
Thomas gushed: “Special mention to Ogbonna. He’s gone under the radar in recent weeks. He’s slowly getting back to his best.”
The Verdict: Top-drawer performances
Moyes’ side have kept clean sheets in three of the last five matches in which the 34-year-old has been involved, conceding only one goal in both of the other games in that run, and Ogbonna was vital in the crucial 2-0 victory against Everton in January. On that afternoon, he made 15 clearances to keep the Toffees at bay, the most of any player on the pitch.
The Italian defender also played his part in the 1-0 FA Cup triumph at Brentford a month ago, blocking two shots and winning two of his three aerial duels to help secure West Ham’s place in the fourth round of the competition, where they defeated Derby to set up a clash against Manchester United.
Once hailed as ‘brilliant‘ by ExWHUemployee, Ogbonna’s contract is due to expire in the summer, but his performances of late have been at a very high level and rightly drawn praise from Thomas. If the 34-year-old keeps it up for the foreseeable future, then it will definitely be worth giving him an extra year at the London Stadium.
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