London-based club West Ham United are believed to be in the race to sign Hull’s skilled attacking midfielder Robert Snodgrass.
The 29-year-old Scottish international has been in excellent form for his club this season, and has been one of the few positives in a season of negatives for Hull City. Indeed, Snodgrass has already scored nine goals in 25 appearances overall for the club so far.
Despite the Scotsman’s free-scoring form, Hull sit at the bottom of the league, having won only 13 points from 20 games, three points adrift of safety.
Snodgrass may well feel that a move to a bigger club is in order, with his talents being wasted at Hull, who seem destined for the drop. West Ham, for their part, are willing to heed that call. Indeed, according to Sky Sports, the Hammers have lined up a £5m bid for the winger, and are confident their bid will be accepted.
West Ham have already made a £3m bid earlier in the month, but Hull outright rejected it.
Despite Hull’s persistence, West Ham should make signing Robert Snodgrass a priority, and here are three reasons why:
Snodgrass is a set piece specialist
The Hammers have been incredibly prolific from set pieces this season, having scored 10 goals from free kicks so far – 43% of their total tally. Manager Slaven Bilic is a fan of this system and Snodgrass is no different.
Snodgrass ability to accurately cross or pass from dead ball situations as the free kick taker would be invaluable for West Ham as the club tries to solidify their position in the Premier League in the second half of the campaign.
Snodgrass’ long shots are accurate
Bilic’s West Ham are known for their keenness to score goals from afar. They aren’t interested in walking the ball towards the net, they’d rather have their players possess an ability to take long shots and score from the edge of the penalty area, as it requires less men on the attack – meaning they can commit more men in defence, an area they specialise.
Snodgrass can prove vital in such situations. In his nine goals so far, two have come from the edge of the box, and the rest have come from beyond the 6-yard box, thanks to the his mean left foot.
Snodgrass is a good defender on the wings
One of the weak points in West Ham’s play is their ability to defend runs from the wings. Much was evident in their 2-0 defeat against Everton at Goodison Park back in October, as well as in their humbling 4-1 loss to Manchester United in their League Cup fixture in November.
Those games proved that West Ham lack a defender who can run with pace but at the same time do a well-timed tackle. The Hammers need not look further than Snodgrass, who has the ability to do both, and this should be enough to convince Bilic to sign that check, splash the cash, and bring the Scottish Winger to the Olympic Stadium.