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Isaac Hayden has been identified as a possible West Ham United target after the club missed out on the signing of Andre Gomes, per ClaretandHugh.
Hayden is a solid if unspectacular midfield player and the report claims that he would cost £15m in this transfer window, but would he improve the Hammers’ midfield?
On the chalkboard
The club currently have Mark Noble, Declan Rice, Pedro Obiang and Jack Wilshere as their main options in the centre of the pitch.
Per WhoScored, Hayden averages 2.9 tackles per game in the Premier League, 1.6 interceptions, 1.1 clearances and is dribbled past 0.7 times. He also has 0.9 key passes in each game, along with a pass completion rate of 79.4%.
By comparison, Noble makes 1.5 tackles, 0.7 interceptions, 0.4 clearances and is dribbled by 1.2 times each game. His key passes rate is 0.7, while his pass completion rate is 85.3%.
Rice, a far more defensive talent than Noble, averages the same number of tackles as Hayden per game, 1.5 interceptions, 1.6 clearances and is dribbled past 1.5 times each game. His key pass stat is 0.6 while his pass completion rate is 86.4%.
Obiang fares even worse: 1.7 tackles, 0.5 interceptions, 0.6 clearances and being dribbled by once mean that he is worse than Hayden in every conceivable defensive area. His key passes number is a mere 0.3 but his pass success rate is 80%.
Wilshere, who has barely played any football for the Hammers, averages 0.9 tackles and interceptions while he does not even have a clearance stat. He is dribbled by 0.5 times per game, makes 0.6 key passes and has a completion rate of 89.8%.
Hayden, then, may well be the man to improve Manuel Pellegrini’s midfield.
Sort out his radar
Hayden needs to be more accurate with his distribution.
Other than that, he has a higher tackle rate than every other West Ham player including England international Rice and is only bettered in one area: clearances, by the former Chelsea youngster.
This is a player who would come in and instantly improve the Hammers but he simply has to learn how to pass the ball more successfully.
It is all very well winning it back but if he is merely going to give it away again, there isn’t much point.
If he does rock up in east London, he will need some accuracy training; other than that, he appears to be Pellegrini’s ideal midfield player.
He will add steel and assiduity and could even be Mark Noble’s long-term replacement.
At £15m, he’s an absolute snip.