West Ham United have seen their enquiry about signing defender Max Aarons rejected by Norwich City, that is according to club insider @ExWHUemployee who was speaking on the West Ham Way podcast on Tuesday (28th January).
It comes as a blow to the Hammers, who are looking for a new right-back this month to compete with Ryan Fredericks and Pablo Zabaleta.
Right-back has been a bit of a problem position for the Hammers this season. Fredericks has been the regular first choice, starting 17 times in the Premier League (Transfermarkt) but recently he has been missing due to a hamstring strain (whufc.com).
In his absence, Pablo Zabaleta has gone into the team, but at 35-years-old he is now past his best so David Moyes could really do with another option in that area of the pitch.
According to @ExWHUemployee, Aarons was identified as someone who could come in and improve them but their interest was swiftly rebuffed by the Canaries.
You can certainly see why West Ham would want to sign Aarons. As mentioned, Zabaleta is now getting on and his contract is set to expire in the summer (Transfermarkt), so there is certainly a need for them to get a new right-back.
And when you look at the stats, the 20-year-old would potentially be an upgrade on Fredericks, particularly in an attacking sense. Indeed, he has shown plenty of threat going forward, creating six big chances and averaging 1.5 successful dribbles per match (SofaScore).
Meanwhile, Fredericks has created just one big chance so far this season and averages less successful dribbles per game with just 0.4 (SofaScore).
Added to that, Aarons is also seven years younger than Fredericks and has been described by Sky Sports as an athletic, all-energy, defensively stout full-back. He is certainly someone with lots of potential, but also has good experience having played 67 matches in senior football already despite being just 20 (Transfermarkt).
Unfortunately, it looks like they won’t be able to sign the promising young defender in this window. But they may choose to keep tabs on him going forward and go back in for him in the summer if they stay up and Norwich are relegated, which could happen with the Canaries rooted to the bottom of the league whilst the Irons are just above the drop zone (BBC Sport).
West Ham fans, would you like to see your club sign Max Aarons? Let us know your thoughts below…
