Matt Grimes of Swansea City in action during the Sky Bet Championship match between Swansea City and West Bromwich Albion at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea, Wales, UK. Saturday 07 March 2020
According to the Daily Star, West Ham have been credited with an interest in Swansea City star Matt Grimes, with David Moyes keen to add a new central midfielder to his ranks before the domestic deadline.
The Hammers also have Brentford midfielder Josh Dasilva on their shortlist of potential targets but with the England U-21 international putting pen to paper on a new deal at Griffin Park, the East Londoners are ready to turn their attention to Grimes. (h/t Daily Star)
Matt Grimes started his professional career with Exeter City in League Two before earning a move to Swansea City in January 2015 but he made only a handful of appearances in the Premier League.
The midfielder was loaned out to Blackburn Rovers and Leeds United in the Championship, as well as Northampton Town in League One. Grimes then returned to the Liberty Stadium to establish himself in Swansea’s first-team following the club’s relegation from the top-flight.
The 25-year-old featured in all but one of Swansea’s 46 league fixtures in the second-tier during the 2018-19 campaign and didn’t miss a single league game for the Swans last term, registering 7 assists in 48 appearances. Grimes was one of the cornerstones of the club’s march to the semi-final of the promotion playoffs, where they lost out to Brentford.
The former England youth international has carried on from where he signed off last term, starting and playing the full 90 minutes of Swansea’s first four Championship fixtures before the international break.
The deadline day acquisition of Czech right-back Vladimir Coufal would surely have brought some solace to West Ham’s recruitment team.
Lack of depth and quality at the back has long been a pressing concern for West Ham, who conceded as many as 62 goals in the PL last season. While their pursuit of defensive targets is certainly justified, the Hammers also need to consider improving other areas of their squad.
Central midfield is one area where West Ham currently lack adequate depth, not least following the departure of Carlos Sanchez and Jack Wilshere. Moyes has relied on Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice as his first-choice midfield pairing with the veteran duo of Mark Noble and Robert Snodgrass playing second fiddle,
However, it goes without saying that the Hammers ideally need a younger option in that department as a part of their long-term plans moving forward. Matt Grimes, to that end, presents a feasible option in the right age bracket.
Capable of switching between box-to-box and holding roles in the middle, the 25-year-old has established himself as one of the best central midfielders in the Championship over the past couple of seasons.
He wasn’t given a fair crack of the whip to prove himself in the top-flight earlier in his career at Swansea, but Grimes now seems ready to make the step up, having progressed by leaps and bounds in recent years.
As evident from his heat map in 2019-20, Grimes has been used in a deep-lying role at Swansea but he is more than capable of getting himself into dangerous attacking positions further up the pitch. The 25-year-old has contributed with 11 assists in the Championship since the start of the 2018-19 campaign, meaning that he has the creativity to complement his work rate.
It’s clear from the above discussion that Matt Grimes would be a really good signing for West Ham. He is someone who Moyes can rely on to make an immediate impact while the fact that he still has his best years ahead of him means that the Exeter-born ace also fits the bill as a good long-term investment for the club.