West Ham United will likely need to address the right-back position in January, if not the summer, as one man appears to be on his way out of the club.
Pablo Zabaleta is thought to be considering his retirement from the game, with reports from Spain claiming that it could come as soon as this summer.
The Argentine, who is 34-years-old in January, has been a regular for Manuel Pellegrini this season and has been considered to be one of the Hammers better players as they start to put together a number of impressive performances and build upon their poor start to the Premier League campaign.
The former Manchester City ace, where he once worked with his current manager, is thought to have a clause in his contract for an automatic extension with his deal set to expire at the end of the season.
With Ryan Fredericks and Sam Byram at the club already, with the latter already out on loan at Nottingham Forest, Pellegrini should look at trying to add another right-back to the squad just in case the Argentine does decide to call it a day.
And, Danny da Costa, valued at £4.5 million as per Transfermarkt, could be the man to replace Zabaleta as the Eintracht Frankfurt man would surely be an upgrade on the options the Irons currently have.
The 25-year-old has been impressing for the Bundesliga outfit this season already, having managed to bag himself two goals and an assist in his 15 appearances.
The German has been key for his side as he has helped Frankfurt with their efforts in both the Bundesliga and Europa League, so it is unlikely that the he will come cheaply.
Pellegrini and West Ham were not scared of splashing out in the summer, having broken their transfer record twice with the purchases of Issa Diop and then Felipe Anderson.
However, it would remain to be seen if they will spend big in January, especially with a belief that the club feel they have more important areas to resolve.
Da Costa certainly would not be a bad option for them to target, though, should Zabaleta decide to call it a day in the near future.
West Ham fans – thoughts?
