A full-back by trade, West Ham United defender Aaron Cresswell has found himself lining up as a left-sided centre-back as part of a three-man defence for the Irons on a number of occasions over the course of this season – and in particular so far in 2018.

With Jose Fonte leaving for the Chinese Super League in February and Winston Reid and James Collins currently both injured, the 28-year-old, who is rated at £10.8m by Transfermarkt, once again lined up alongside Angelo Ogbonna and Declan Rice at the back against Stoke City at the London Stadium on Monday night, with Arthur Masuaku at left wing-back.

While his main role as a centre-back is clearly to ensure his team doesn't concede, Cresswell, whom Hammers supporters slated on Twitter last month for his poor form, showed the attacking ability that he has and the impact he's capable of making in the final third against the Potters, who took the lead in the 79th minute through Peter Crouch.

The former Ipswich Town man had a total of four shots at goal throughout the 90 minutes – with three of those being on target – while he also had more touches (92) than any other Irons player on the pitch, as well as making two key passes – including the assist for Andy Carroll's late equaliser.

While Cresswell has been needed at centre-back in recent weeks and months, his statistics against Paul Lambert's side suggest that his manager David Moyes needs to play him in a more attacking role in the future, to help his team in the final third.