Great Expectations – Aaron Creswell

Having racked up two goals and 14 assists for Ipswich in 2013/14, Aaron Cresswell’s raiding displays persuaded former West Ham boss Sam Allardyce to splash the cash last summer. Immediately nailing down a starting berth, the left-back was one of only four outfield players to feature from start to finish in every one of his side’s league fixtures in the previous campaign.

Cresswell’s displays saw him named as the Hammer of the Year and Player’s Player of the Year in his debut top-tier campaign and his performances were noteworthy enough to attract reported interest from Premier League big boys Manchester City and Chelsea.

Having opted to sign a new five-year deal at West Ham over the last couple of weeks, Cresswell will be keen to push on under new boss Slaven Bilic this time around as the Hammers prepare for their final season at Upton Park…

Key Factors

• Cresswell’s haul of attacking returns last term (two goal and four assists) was more than respectable yet didn’t quite do justice to his impressive underlying statistics. Comparing his goal threat to fellow defenders, only Branislav Ivanovic (11) fashioned more attempts on target than the Hammers full-back over the course of the previous campaign. Furthermore, Cresswell sat joint top – alongside Seamus Coleman – with regards to shot accuracy (47.4%) among those defenders that fired off at least ten attempts. Turning our attention towards his creative influence, Cresswell served up 34 chances for his team-mates, which was just two shy of Ivanovic’s total and only bettered by three other defenders.

• Having tallied 129 points last time out, Cresswell has retained his 5.5 starting price. Only three teams (Queens Park Rangers, Crystal Palace and Newcastle United) accrued fewer clean sheets than the Irons (nine) in the previous campaign, so unless Bilic’s arrival engenders a substantial improvement on the defensive front, Cresswell’s value lies in his attacking potential. The fact that the former Ipswich Town man never pushed past the 5.7 mark last season and ended with a mere 5% ownership suggests he could become a differential to watch in that mid-price bracket, should he be overlooked once again.

• Beyond a flirtation with the top four berths at the halfway point of the season, West Ham’s promising campaign fell apart. Their greatest shortcoming was a severe lack of goals, given that the final 16 league matches of Sam Allardyce’s reign harvested just nine. With Bilic at the helm, however, the Hammers are likely to be adopt a 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 set-up – crucially, the former Croatia manager, who’s been stressing the importance of attacking with fluidity and numbers, favours inverted wingers, which should afford Cresswell license to maraud forward and provide the width, thus enhancing his attacking prospects.

• Notwithstanding a trip to London rivals Arsenal in Gameweek 1, West Ham’s start to the new campaign throws up some enticing match-ups. Visits to Liverpool (Gameweek 4) and Manchester City (Gameweek 6) should also prove stern tests, yet the remaining six fixtures up to Gameweek 9 (LEI, BOU, NEW, NOR, sun, cpl) all present decent opportunities for clean sheets.