The £6m bargain defender West Ham could sign to make defence rock solid in January

One bludgeoned header does not a renaissance make. That being said, Harry Maguire’s winning contribution during Manchester United’s Champions League victory over FC Copenhagen in midweek could well prove to be the first brushstroke in an improbable fresco of redemption.

For the much-maligned defender, to hear Old Trafford bellow his name with glee once again must have felt somewhat surreal. You could argue that Tuesday’s sudden outpouring of admiration is a perfect illustration of just how fickle football fans can be, but the undying romantic within wants to be believe that it was more of an acknowledgment that the criticism lavished upon the centre-back has reached hysterical, unnecessary levels in recent times. Maybe, just maybe, this is a watershed moment.

And if it is, then the likelihood of Maguire leaving United any time soon dwindles further still. That might be good news for purveyors of scrappy underdog tales and, y’know, the player himself, but it would be less advantageous for West Ham. Over the summer, the England international came achingly close to joining the Hammers, only for the proposed deal to unravel at a vital juncture. There has since been tentative talk of a potential rekindling of interest in January, but if Maguire is indeed set to stay put in Manchester then David Moyes may need to shift his affections to other targets.

Targets like Sebastian Caceres, for instance. By no means is the Uruguayan a household name in the European game, but that could - and arguably should - change pretty soon. Currently on the books at Mexican outfit Club America, the 24-year-old is a trusted senior international who has received wholehearted backing from the venerable Marcelo Bielsa, and who continues to pique the interest of several Premier League.

According to Football Insider, West Ham are very much amongst them, but could face stern competition for his signature from the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United, and Fulham. Because Caceres has just over 12 months left on his contract in Mexico City, it is suggested that he could be allowed to leave Las Aguilas for anywhere between £6 million and £10 million.

By any metric, that would be a bargain fee, but for a player of Caceres’ obvious potential, it may well prove to be an unmissable steal. With the best years of his career still very much ahead of him, the defender is increasingly looking like a talent who is ready to take the next big leap forward in his progression. Earlier this month, for example, Uruguay beat the mighty Brazil for the first time since 2001, and Caceres was, in short, absolutely magnificent throughout. It was the centre-back’s fourth consecutive start for his national side, and in each one he has appeared more and more settled, and more and more like a player who won’t be playing his football in Mexico for much longer.

Of course, there are reasons to hold slight reservations. For one thing, the Premier League is quite the step up from the Mexican top flight. For another, the audacity of signing a central defender who stands a little under six feet tall is usually enough to send all kinds of jurassic pundits into various forms of existential meltdown.

But the fact of the matter is this: having conceded 16 goals already this season (a tally only eclipsed by the bottom four sides in the division) West Ham are in need of defensive reinforcements in January. They will struggle to find a player as good, as readily available, or as cheap as Caceres.