West Ham United have lost their balance in midfield this season, according to BBC pundit Leon Osman.
The Hammers drew 2-2 with Leeds United on Wednesday night, conceding an equaliser with 20 minutes remaining and picking up a point which left them in 17th place and outside of the relegation zone on goal difference.
Manager David Moyes was left frustrated with the manner in which his side 'got caught in a couple of defensive mistakes, which obviously let them back into the game.'
READ MORE: Declan Rice 'lucky' to avoid major injury during West Ham's Premier League draw against Leeds
And speaking on BBC's Match of the Day programme, Osman believes that in trying to progress the side, his former Everton manager has sacrificed the balance in midfield which has left Declan Rice isolated due to Lucas Paqueta and Tomas Soucek being more advanced - especially at Elland Road.
"West Ham have tried to progress, they've tried to bring in players like Lucas Paqueta who is a wonderful footballer but in doing so I'm not quite sure they've found the right balance in that midfield area yet," Osman pointed out.
"They used to play with [Tomas] Soucek and [Declan] Rice alongside each other, now Declan Rice sits there on his own with Soucek ahead of him and that midfield at times has become so bare for West Ham that opposition teams are able to pick up those pockets either side...
"You see there again, Declan Rice trying to cover big areas, Soucek and Paqueta up the field and when you're playing one sitting in front of that back four, if the opposition get players either side of you it's near impossible to cover all those areas and it was a theme in that first-half.
"As soon as Declan Rice got sucked out of that area there was nobody else in there to try and cover that position and [Crysencio] Summerville, [Wilfried] Gnonto had a field day."
Analysing the second goal in which Rodrigo equalised, Osman pointed out that Rice was alone at the base of midfield and Leeds managed to play around him and find the back of the net.
Breaking down the way in which Rice was forced to try and cover the space alone, the pundit highlighted that this wasn't happening last season and explained why the issue has cropped up in 2022.
"Here it is again. This is absolutely brilliant play from [Jack] Harrison, just spotting that bit of space, brilliant touch, but again, Declan Rice in there on his own trying to cover those positions and finding it very difficult and David Moyes is frustrated with it because last season that didn't happen to West Ham.
"This season, in trying to get that balance right, they've just given themselves a few spaces difficult to defend."
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