Craig Dawson: West Ham expert hails ‘incredible signing by Moyes’
Craig Dawson has been the “catalyst” for West Ham as they confirmed their place in the Europa League semi-finals.
That is the view of ex-Premier League and England Under-21 forward Noel Whelan, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about Dawson’s “incredible” impact.
The centre-back, 31, started and scored in the Hammers’ famous 3-0 win out in Lyon on Thursday night (14 April).
That set up a semi-final with Eintracht Frankfurt in the semi-final with a 4-1 aggregate win.
As quoted by club media after the game, Moyes admitted he had been “wowed” by the defender’s performances as he has gone up another level.
“Dawson to me, is the catalyst for this, at the back,” Whelan told Football Insider assistant editor Russell Edge.
“Even though they’ve got Kurt Zouma as a record signing, I think Dawson is the main man at the back. That has been an incredible signing by David Moyes.
“You’ve got Dawson on the scoresheet, Bowen on the scoresheet. There are certain players in that side who they can not do without. Those two are massive for that football club.
“Dawson is like a captain at the back, he’s a leader and he brings out the best of any centre-half who plays next to him.”
Dawson has only missed two of the club’s European games this season and five in all competitions notching 43 appearances in total.
The Englishman is under contract at the London Stadium until next summer and was signed from Watford in the summer of 2020.
In other news, Kieran Maguire has revealed Uefa now have the power to ‘relegate’ West Ham after a ‘major’ announcement.