West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini has said in his pre-match conference ahead of the Tottenham clash that DR Congo defender Arthur Masuaku needs to improve defensively.

The 24-year-old, who was signed by Slaven Bilic in 2016, hasn’t had the best of seasons so far in claret and blue.

Although Masuaku has forced Aaron Cresswell out of West Ham’s starting line-up in recent weeks, the former Manchester City manager feels he has room for improvement.

“I knew about Aaron when I was here with Man City. Arthur is maybe a more attacking player but he has to improve a lot defending so we have in that position very good cover,” said Pellegrini as quoted by Football London.

He returned from international duty early after he picked up a minor ankle injury. The manager has confirmed that the left-back is training, although according to Football London it is still unclear whether he would be fit enough to start the game.

Masuaku has struggled to adapt to Pellegrini’s four-man defence this season, and has come under criticism after his poor performance against Brighton.

He has been Pellegrini’s first choice left-back in the Premier League campaign, but it remains to be seen whether the Chilean replaces him with Cresswell for this crucial game.