Many West Ham fans believe that the impact of Craig Dawson has been nothing short of transformative after the 30-year-old put in another immense performance against Sheffield United.
The 3-0 victory over the Blades ensured that, despite the lack of a natural striker in the team, the Hammers’ quest for European football remains strong.
A further three points lifted the Hammers above Liverpool and sees them outside of the Champions League places only due to goal difference against fellow London club Chelsea.
The ambitious mission of playing in Europe next season has been aided in no small part thanks to Dawson’s contributions, with the on-loan Watford defender becoming a mainstay of David Moyes’ plans.
Dawson had initially endured a long spell out of the starting XI after his move, but the winter months proved decisive in offering him a platform to show his true capabilities.
As was noted by a tweet from the official West Ham account, Dawson has formed part of a robust and near-impenetrable defensive unit. In just nine Premier League games, Dawson has kept five clean sheets, been involved in six wins and even has two goals to his name in that time (Transfermarkt).
Craig Dawson in the Premier League this season…
9️⃣ games
6️⃣ wins
5️⃣ clean sheets
2️⃣ goals pic.twitter.com/HMAXT3kVHY— West Ham United (@WestHam) February 15, 2021
These West Ham fans flocked to those statistics to pour praise on the veteran, who one supporter called a ‘blue passport Beckenbauer’ in reference to his homegrown status and the legendary German World Cup-winning centre-back.
Twitter: @WestHam Sign him permanently! COYI (@Bobby_Seagull)
Twitter: @WestHam Craig Dawson has been the one player that has proved wrong the majority of a fan base after signing; can’t… https://t.co/OQpOVYHEgk (@WestHamJoshV)
Twitter: @WestHam Who would of thought it, I definitely wouldn’t of, totally shocked when we signed him but what a player he… https://t.co/kJpjqRchPa (@mhendy1971)
Twitter: @WestHam Nothing short of phenomenal since arriving (@malone_pete)
Twitter: @WestHam Blue passport beckenbauer (@mattw00druf)
Twitter: @WestHam You gotta love the man. Handles himself well and is always a threat in the air. (@just_cloun)
Twitter: @WestHam proved a lot of us Hammers wrong…..solid as a rock
(@MichelleIrons10)
