[ad_pod ]
This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
When West Ham United signed Ryan Fredericks on a free transfer during the summer of 2018, he had never played a minute of Premier League football – and it showed during the early stages of his career with the Irons.
It was a tough baptism of fire for the right-back as he started the opening day 4-0 defeat against Liverpool, before also playing the full 90 minutes against Arsenal and Wolves having been dropped to the bench in the Irons’ second game of the 2018/19 campaign against Bournemouth.
The 26-year-old then only played 17 minutes of Premier League football between September 2 and February due to a lack of form and an ankle injury, and he looked to be firmly behind the experienced Pablo Zabaleta in the pecking order.
However, he worked his way back into the XI and started nine of their final 14 top flight fixtures of the campaign, including being part of a backline that conceded just one goal in three successive wins at the end of April and into May.
Fredericks also netted his first West Ham league goal in one of those May wins against Southampton, and that form coupled with his pre-season training displays obviously convinced Manuel Pellegrini he should be his first-choice right-back this term – and he hasn’t let his manager down so far.
The former Fulham man has already made one-third of the total 18 appearances he made in all competitions last season in 2019/20, and helped the east London outfit keep three successive Premier League clean sheets in recent weeks in the process.
While there has never really been any doubt about his ability to get forward, the 26-year-old’s defensive capabilities have been called into question by fans previously.
That said, he absolutely shone against Manchester United’s Daniel James on Sunday as his team ran out 2-0 winners at the London Stadium, keeping a rapid winger who had three goals in his previous five league games for the Red Devils quiet.
Furthermore, he created plenty of problems going forward for makeshift left-back Ashley Young too, with Football London describing it as “one of his best displays of the season so far”.
Watch West Ham United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below
That shows the consistent high standard of performance Fredericks is producing right now, and he admitted post-match that both he and his teammates have been doing plenty of team shape work on the training ground with Pellegrini.
It appears to be paying dividends for the right-back, who has been transformed from a Premier League newbie to a consistently good performer at this level in the space of just over 12 months.