West Ham place Championship duo on shortlist to plug Ogbonna gap

Angelo Ogbonna in action for West Ham

West Ham United are reportedly looking at Middlesbrough’s Dael Fry and QPR’s Rob Dickie as potential January signings.

Football League World are reporting that the Premier League side are keeping tabs on the pair, after centre-back Angelo Ogbonna picked up an ACL injury in their 3-2 win over Liverpool on Sunday.

Fry is a Middlesbrough academy product, and has been with the club since he was seven years old. He has since made well over 100 appearances for Boro’s first team, scoring one goal in a 3-1 defeat at Bristol City last season.

Football League World report that West Ham have “made checks” on the 24-year-old.

Meanwhile, Dickie is a product of the Reading academy. He also had a spell at Oxford United in League One before signing for QPR ahead of the 2020-2021 season.

Overall, the 25-year-old has made 52 appearances for Hoops, scoring five goals.

A possible void for West Ham?

The injury to Ogbonna has left West Ham with three fit senior centre-backs in their squad. Kurt Zouma, Craig Dawson and Issa Diop are the only ones available as things stand.


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All three signed for the club at different times. Diop signed under previous manager Manuel Pellegrini ahead of the 2018-2019 season, with Dawson signing initially on loan in 2020, and Zouma being the latest acquisition earlier this year.

While they have cover now, another injury in that position could force their hand.

West Ham and manager David Moyes do have a reputation for turning Championship players into Premier League players. They have already done it with the likes of Jarrod Bowen from Hull and Said Benrahma from Brentford.

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