Why West Ham must make a move for Norwich’s Kenny McLean

According to Football.London, West Ham have been linked with Norwich City midfielder Kenny McLean ahead of the summer transfer window.

Kenny McLean, 28, helped Norwich City to the Championship title last season, scoring three goals and supplying six assists in the process. The Scotsman has been a prominent part of City’s first team this term as well, registering a goal and an assist in 28 league games.

However, the Canaries have struggled following promotion and are rock bottom in the table with the Premier League season suspended until April 30. They have won just once in their last five games and are six points adrift of safety.

Shifting the focus to West Ham, they have struggled for any consistency for the majority of the campaign. The Hammers did make a couple of important signings in Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen during the January transfer window, but the Hammers haven’t made any significant improvements. David Moyes and co. now have nine more games to save themselves from relegation.

Overall, West Ham have shortcomings in certain areas of the pitch and Moyes must address it over the summer transfer window. One area the Scotsman should prioritise reinforcing is the midfield, even after signing Tomas Soucek on loan in January.

Declan Rice has impressed with his performances in the last 18 months or so but he has lacked a reliable player alongside him in the middle of the park. Mark Noble will turn 33 in May and is entering the twilight of his career, while Carlos Sanchez has been a total flop and is out of contract at the end of the season. Plus, Jack Wilshere’s injury nightmares continue to haunt him at the Olympic stadium.

Thus, it’s a no-brainer for the Hammers to bring in midfield reinforcements during the summer transfer window and they must go for Kenny McLean.

McLean is an experienced midfielder who has represented clubs like St. Mirren, Arbroath, Aberdeen and Norwich City. He has played over 380 games in his career, scoring 53 goals in the process. The 19-cap Scotland international is a central midfielder by trade but he can also play as a left midfielder and being left-footed, he would be a good option to line up alongside Rice in West Ham’s midfield.

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The 28-year-old has proven to be a reliable player for Norwich and can certainly thrive in Moyes’ system at the London Stadium. McLean would add quality to West Ham’s midfield, whilst bringing competition within the squad.

Verdict

All in all, the Scotsman would be a good addition to the Hammers midfield. Thus, West Ham must recruit McLean at the end of the season.