West Ham have conducted some savvy business this summer, as we’ve become used to under Slaven Bilic, but the refusal to invest in another top quality defend continues to hold the team back.
As last night’s embarrassing 2-1 defeat to Slovenian side NK Domzale in the Europa League illustrated, the Hammers don’t have the strength or depth at the back to compete on four fronts this season lie the club hope to do.
Without Aaron Cresswell and Angelo Ogbonna last night – two of the four key starters in last season’s defence, plus Michail Antonio hopelessly being played out of position at right-back meant West Ham fielded a back four of Antonio, Reid, Nordtveit and Byram, a defence which has never played together and three of its four players playing outside of their natural position.
Fans took to social media last night to critique the decision made by Bilic and his staff and unleashed their outrage at the fact the club have failed to sign a quality defender, more specifically a right-back this summer.
Fortunately for West Ham, there’s a top quality defender available on a free transfer – Martin Caceres.
The 29-year-old has left Juventus after five-and-a-half years at the club across two spells which saw him win five Scudettos along with two Italian cup winner’s medals.
Caceres’ rather nomadic career has seen him never really settle anywhere he’s been until his January 2012 return to Juventus where he went on to complete the longest stint at any club since his move to European football in 2007.
A standout at Recreativo Huelva (on loan from Villarreal) the Uruguayan international caught the eye of Barcelona who shelled out £14m to sign the then 21-year-old defender but he never established himself at the Nou Camp.
His one and only season with Barcelona saw him make just 23 appearances in all competitions with the Catalan club now looking to send him out on loan.
Juventus came calling where he was a star in the making. He impressed during his 21 appearances but Juve and Barca couldn’t agree on a fee for his services. A loan move to Sevilla materialised which became permanent in the summer of 2011 for just £2.5m.
Failing to make his mark in 18 appearances from August to January saw Juventus come calling again for the versatile defender. He joined on loan until the end of the season but this time, a fee was agreed for his permanent transfer.
For someone like Caceres, able to play in any position across the defensive line, where he plays is irrelevant, he just wants to contribute and at Juventus, who utilised him at centre-back, as a tradition fullback or as a wing-back on either side, he did just that – contribute.
“The role isn’t important, the only thing that matters is playing in the first place,” Caceres said at a press conference.
“As far as I’m concerned there’s no difference between one position or another, but if I had to choose my preferred position is central defender.
“But I’ve played right-back, left-back and centre-back for Uruguay and it has always been fine. The most important thing is to play.”
At Juventus, he didn’t play every week, and when he did play more often than not it was from the bench, but over the last four-and-a-half years, Caceres has been a consistent performer – when available.
Injuries are a frequent feature of Martin’s past. Since he rejoined the Bianconeri in January 2012, Caceres has injured for a total of 455 days, ruling him out of 80 games in total, including the final 19 games of last season with an Achilles tear – an injury which will sideline him until mid-September at the earliest.
At 29, the recovery from severe injuries isn’t as quick and easy as it is when you;re 21 or 22. Caceres would need to be managed carefully in order to keep him fit and fresh for as much of the season as possible.
At West Ham, he wouldn’t need to start every week because we have the options to rotate now and again to keep players fresh – just like how he was used at Juventus. The fourth-choice centre-back behind the somewhat legendary trio of Chiellini-Barzagli-Bonucci, Caceres still managed to make 89 appearances in four seasons as their No.1 stand-in, proving he’s a more than capable deputy and as we know, all he wants to do is help his team, regardless of where he plays.
Be it right-back, left-back or centre-back (all positions West Ham could use with reinforcements in at the moment) Caceres has performed there admirably at the highest club level, as well as the international stage and that cannot be ignored.
West Ham are in a position where they need experienced players with proven quality at key positions to help them get to where they need to go, and Martin Caceres is someone who ticks all three boxes.
Sure, he won’t be ready for action for another two months and he has a questionable injury history but there’s one thing you can’t question and it’s his footballing ability. Managed properly, Caceres could be our signing of the summer when you factor in the impact he’ll have on our defensive displays.
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