A fascinating piece of Championship analysis from Loft Insights on X may provide an uncomfortable reminder of where West Ham’s midfield falls short.
The graphic plots central midfielders based on two key metrics: line-breaking passes per 90 minutes and ball-winning actions per 90 minutes. Put simply, it measures which players are able to progress the ball through opposition lines while also contributing defensively.
The most interesting takeaway for me was not necessarily which players stand out, but where West Ham’s own midfield profiles sit on the chart.
The Championship’s elite midfielders increasingly occupy the top-right quadrant, combining progression and defensive intensity. That is why the chart identifies Norwich City’s Kenny McLean as one of the Championship’s most complete midfielders, posting outstanding line-breaking numbers while maintaining strong defensive output, despite only featuring for ten games out of fifteen due to an ankle injury.
Midfielder Kanté
Meanwhile, Portsmouth’s Ebou Adams is highlighted as a “defensive monster”, producing exceptional ball-winning statistics while still offering significant progression. Sheffield United’s Kalvin Phillips (yes the same player that flopped on loan at West Ham!), Queens Park Rangers’ Jonathan Varane and Norwich’s Jacob Wright also occupy impressive positions, demonstrating the ability to impact both sides of the game.
Looking at West Ham’s current midfield options, there is a clear argument that the squad lacks that same balance.
Mohamadou Kanté is viewed as a dynamic ball-carrying midfielder with strong physical attributes, but his game is built more around energy and transition play than elite progression metrics. Arne Engels offers technical quality and creativity, yet is generally more comfortable operating higher up the pitch than acting as a defensive controller.
The data is only based on players who have played an average of 540 mins so one omission is Tomas Souček, whose strengths have always been obvious. The Czech international on paper would arguably be the Championships most effective midfield goalscorer (3 in 7 appearances so far) and I’d expect him to feature highly for aerial presence. However, if plotted on a graph measuring line-breaking passes and ball-winning volume, he would likely owe more to his physicality and attacking threat than his ability to dictate possession through midfield.
That perhaps explains why West Ham can sometimes appear disconnected between defence and attack.
Too often there is a reliance on direct balls into attacking areas rather than building through the centre of the pitch. Equally, when possession is lost, the midfield does not always possess the combination of mobility and defensive output needed to regain control quickly.
The chart reinforces the importance of finding players who can perform both jobs simultaneously.
West Ham arguably have midfielders who can create and win duels. What they appear to lack is a genuine “two-way” midfielder capable of consistently ranking highly in both categories.
That was precisely what Declan Rice offered during his time at the club. His ability to recover possession and immediately progress the ball remains incredibly difficult to replace.
The reality is Rice was never truly replaced, although finding a like-for-like successor was always going to be a near-impossible task
Former West Ham midfielder James Ward-Prowse’s position on the chart is also interesting. A casualty of Nuno’s reign, he ranks among the highest players for line-breaking passes but has one of the lowest ball-winning outputs. Ward-Prowse excels at progressing possession but offers relatively little defensive contribution compared to the league’s most complete midfielders.
Above all the data serves as a reminder that Koppen’s recruitment and Parker’s existing choices for midfield should focus less on individual statistics and more on complete profiles.
Because the numbers suggest that is where Championship matches are increasingly won.
I think there is nothing wrong with the Midfield. There is just a problem with the short pass mentality. The day of playing short passes across midfield are over in English football. You need decent long passes with good trapping and decent positive movement. How many of West Ham’s passes are square ball or back passes ? Far to many. Particularly back passes are all to often caught on to giving away needless goals. Walker-Peters is a really good example. Having moved forward beating someone, he then passes back in midfield, or worst still carries the ball backwards towards midfield or defence. Play positively, avoid back passes, learn to pass well and trap well and you have a very good midfield. Orford, Kante and other young players are far better at doing this, than the older players.