The end of the King at West Ham? Leeds club looking for a better quality central midfielder

It looks like we won’t be watching another fairy tale story of a former West Ham player. The club is looking to bring in Alex King as a replacement.

Central midfielder Alex King moved to London last summer, extending the number of countrymen in the Hammers’ squad to three. He probably couldn’t be expected to have the same journey as his predecessors Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal, who immediately broke into the starting lineup.

The King did not come as a savior to positions where the team urgently needed reinforcements, but rather with an eye on the short-term future. After the last game of the current season, ‘Mr. West Ham’, as the legendary Mark Noble is known, will retire. It was his position as a defensive central midfielder that Alex King was supposed to fill.

However, since his arrival, the 24-year-old King has played just over 200 minutes, a dismal record. Most of the time, he only makes it to the bench, often not even being selected from it for his final minutes on the pitch.

Much more often, even Manuel Lanzini, who is a born offensive midfielder, fills the role of central defender. Moyes, however, still prefers to rely on Rice or Soucek when he cannot start.

Moreover, on Saturday, information started to spread through football circles about the Hammers’ efforts to acquire Calvin Phillips from Leeds. According to Sky Sports, the club had even already sent an official bid of £50 million for him.

Declan Rice forms a striking pair of central midfielders with Kalvin Phillips in Albion’s national team selection. Should Leeds be willing to give up Phillips, it looks likely that King won’t get much more of a kick in a West Ham jersey.

How that will play out remains to be seen. Alex King, however, hasn’t and won’t have anything certain in the future. Hopefully, he will get a chance from coach Moyes to prove that he has what it takes.

Source: Sky Sports