What can West Ham fans expect from Ryan Fredericks?

West Ham United have moved quickly in this summer's transfer window with Manuel Pellegrini adding five new faces to his squad including Jack Wilshire and Felipe Anderson.

The former English and Brazilian midfielders will be joined at the London Stadium by former Fulham full-back Ryan Fredericks. The fleet-footed 25-year old joins from the newly promoted Cottagers and is likely to offer width, pace and a wicked delivery from the right-hand side.

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West Ham United relied upon Pablo Zabaleta throughout the 2017-18 Premier League season and the experienced full-back provided plenty of know-how and professionalism but he often struggled to get into the final third and was caught out of position on a number of occasions. Fredericks is a much younger model and is touted to be Pellegrini's first-choice right-back during the 2018-19 campaign.

The Hammersmith-born defender arrived at the beginning of June, signing a four-year contract with the Hammers. He played a pivotal part in Fulham's promotion campaign which saw the Cottagers return to the top flight after spending four seasons in the second tier. They beat Aston Villa 1-0 in the play-off final at Wembley with the highly-rated Tom Cairney netting the winner for Slavisa Jokanovic's men.

He signed a contract believed to be worth £40,000 per week and arrives with some impressive statistics under his belt. He arrives on a free transfer after seeing out his contract at Craven Cottage with many Fulham fans unhappy with his departure. He featured 46 times for the West London club last season, providing seven assists and delivering more crosses from open play than any of his team-mates.

He created 43 chances in the Championship last year and although Zabaleta plied his trade in a higher division, he managed to create just 17 in the same time period. It could be an interesting battle between the pair.

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West Ham begin their 2018-19 campaign with a tough-looking fixture against Liverpool and have been priced up as 9/1 outsiders by Redbet. There are many sports betting markets priced up ahead of the new season and given quality of their signings, many Hammers fans may be tempted by the 2/1 on offer for Manuel Pellegrini's outfit to finish in the top ten and their new recruits could play an important part in this forthcoming campaign.

Fredericks loves to get forward and has a hugely impressive turn of pace. Despite his penchant for marauding forward, he isn't likely to neglect his defensive duties either and possesses the pace to get back and make important challenges throughout the 90 minutes. He made 53 successful tackles last season and was far more effective than a number of his teammates when it came to last-ditch defending.

West Ham conceded the joint highest amount of goals in the Premier League last season, shipping 68 in 38 matches and this total was only matched by relegated Stoke. They conceded more goals than demoted duo Swansea and West Brom and Fredericks' arrival should, in theory, leave them less exposed in wide positions.

Zabaleta is an excellent squad-player and the Argentinian is evidently an important figure in the dressing room. The likes of Declan Rice and Aaron Cresswell can learn plenty from the former Manchester City defender but Pellegrini cannot afford to rely upon the 33-year old on a regular basis and Fredericks appears to be the ideal replacement.

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