---
title: "Real Madrid midfielder suggested as surprise Dimitri Payet replacement"
canonical: "https://readwestham.com/2015/11/10/real-madrid-midfielder-suggested-surprise-dimitri-payet-replacement/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Michael Oliver"
section: "Feature Writers"
published: "2015-11-10T21:05:06Z"
modified: "2015-11-10T21:05:06Z"
---

# Real Madrid midfielder suggested as surprise Dimitri Payet replacement

Having seen their key man in Dimitri Payet sidelined for up to three months this week with an ankle injury, West Ham face the tough task of replacing his superb creativity in the side during the busy winter months.

One suggestion has been to move the impressive Manuel Lanzini from the left into the middle to play a more creative role. We’ve already seen the on-loan Argentine impress in the attacking third this season, proving to be one of the signings of the season so far.

![Ian Walton/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readwestham.com/readwestham/2015/11/4961335961.jpg)

Another idea thrown out there has been to scrap the 4-2-3-1 formation and move to a 4-3-3 by bringing in another central midfielder into the team. With Alex Song’s imminent return from injury, reinstating him in the heart of out midfield anchoring the side could provide some much-needed cover for the back four.

Although, it’s this third notion that has me the most intrigued. Purely speculative, but the [Metro](https://metro.co.uk/2015/11/02/forward-thinking-west-ham-should-take-a-chance-on-real-madrids-martin-odegaard-5475203/) have suggested that bringing in Real Madrid prodigy Martin Odegaard on loan until the end of the season could be an astute piece of business by Slaven Bilic.

![Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readwestham.com/readwestham/2015/11/471533614.jpg)

The 16-year-old ‘wonderkid’ has been tipped to reach the highest heights in the world of football, but is struggling for first-team football at the Bernabeu for obvious reasons – dislodging the likes of James Rodriguez, Isco and Luka Modric from the starting line-up is a near impossible task for an unproven teen.

The Norwegian international midfielder is supposedly growing tired of playing for the Castilla side and wants a loan move away to a top division side for more game time at a more competitive level.

West Ham could provide that platform for the teenager to re-establish himself on the footballing stage and remind those who have forgotten about his immense talent.

![Tony Marshall/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readwestham.com/readwestham/2015/11/4831001401.jpg)

Slaven Bilic is not one to shy away from throwing youngsters in at the deep end. So far this season Bilic has handed out an incredible 10 debuts to players 21 or younger – albeit most of those came in the early rounds of our Europa League campaign against weak opposition, but he put his trust in those players to succeed.

The former Stromgodset playmaker could be yet another talented young player that Bilic can impart his wisdom upon and play a key role in the squad over the second half of the season.

Playing in the Premier League would give Odegaard some vital experience at the top level, that would only benefit his long-term development with Real Madrid, which is where he maintains his long-term future remains.