FIVE defenders West Ham should consider in January

This season has already provided us with the inevitable emotional rollercoaster ride that goes hand in hand with being a West Ham fan.

Our displays have ranged from the lacklustre home loss to Southampton to last week’s magnificent 3-1 triumph over Liverpool. New signings such as Kouyate, Zarate, Song, Sakho and Valencia have been stirring up plenty of the excitement which Hammers fans have been starved of in recent years.

But we are still looking defensively fragile on occasions and the solidity which so often saved us last year is beginning to crumble. Perhaps we should have looked to invest in one more defender this summer as there is little defensive depth in our squad.

Therefore our priority in January should be to add another player who can help us tighten up at the back and restore the defensive wall that we prided ourselves on last year.

So here’s FIVE defenders we should be looking to sign in January…

Click on Winston Reid to reveal

Antonio Rudiger

A player we were strongly linked with over the summer was Stuttgart’s Antonio Rudiger. The 21-year-old centre back was also linked with Newcastle and eventually we dropped our interest after Stuttgart refused to budge over the transfer fee.

Rudiger has already been capped twice by world champions Germany and can only improve with age and experience. But with a contract running until summer 2017 and with more clubs bound to be keeping their tabs on his development, a January deal for him looks unlikely at this stage.

Matija Nastasic

In the summer we flirted around the idea of Nastasic or Micah Richards on loan from Manchester City but were eventually put off by wage demands.

If we can free up some wage space then Nastasic may be a shrewd piece of business. The 21-year-old Serbia international has expressed his desire to stay at Manchester City and fight for his place but seems to be below Kompany, Demichelis and Mangala in the pecking order.

Nastasic has already shown that he has enough talent to play at Premier League level having cemented a permanent place in the 2012/13 season aged just 19. Last season was a frustrating one though as he missed much of the campaign through injury and only made 13 appearances in the league.

Provided that we can afford his wage demands and he is happy to get some first team match practice then a loan move could be mutually beneficial for us, Manchester City and the player.

Eder Balanta

Colombian international Eder Balanta is a very talented prospect at centre back.

Currently at River Plate, his manager has rated him at 15 million euros. He possesses great strength and speed as well as being able to play the ball out from the back. Balanta would also be an ideal capture as he is left footed; a quality that Sam Allardyce has been longing for at centre half.

However, our interest is not alone as Liverpool have also been linked with the 21-year-old. A transfer fee may also be a stumbling block as well as gaining a work permit.

Kurt Zouma

Last January, Chelsea swooped to complete the loan signing of central defender Kurt Zouma before loaning him back to St. Etienne for the remainder of the season.

The 19-year-old is widely regarded as one of the hottest prospects in world football and relishes the physical battle despite his age. He is both strong in the air and technically able with the ball on the floor too. Chelsea did not loan him out this summer and he wears the number 5 shirt but has been limited to one Capital One cup game thus far as Gary Cahill, John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic seem to all be favoured for the central role in Chelsea’s defence.

Chelsea may be willing to sanction a loan deal in January for the Frenchman and we should definitely look into securing his services to add some power and toughness to our back line.

Philipp Wollscheid

Bayer Leverkusen’s towering centre back Phillip Wollscheid was subject to interest from us in the summer and we could revive this chase in January.

Standing at six foot four and a half, he is an intimidating presence and an aerial powerhouse. The 25 year old has plenty of experience in the Bundesliga having played over 50 league games each for Nurnberg and Bayer Leverkusen and should be entering the prime of his career.

Wollscheid has two caps for Germany and might fancy the challenge of playing football abroad with the likes of Hull and Southampton also previously registering interest in him.