West Ham United's 3-1 loss to Liverpool on Sunday afternoon concluded their best-ever start to a calendar year in their 125-year history.

The Hamers won six games in a row in all competitions and were unbeaten in their last eight matches. 

Their excellent start to the campaign has got them up to 5th place in the league table, and their star left-back, Aaron Cresswell, has been a huge part of their success. 

Despite their recent defeat, Cresswell still managed to put in a decent performance, eventually getting beaten by two world class finishes from Mohamed Salah. Now the Hammers look ahead to their next few fixtures, which are must-win games.

With this in mind, it could be worth considering to select Cresswell in your FPL team over the next few gameweeks. The highest-scoring defender is already owned by 21.1% of managers and he is a bargain this season for £5.5m. 

Why Aaron Cresswell?

It seems when West Ham are playing well, Aaron Cresswell is almost always amongst the action. He produces good attacking and defensive returns in FPL and has 96 points, the highest for a defender, four points above Liverpool's Andrew Robertson, who is also having a remarkable season. 

What makes him stand out within West Ham's defence is that his attacking returns are much higher than the likes of fellow defenders Angelo Ogbonna and Vladimir Coufal. 

West Ham have scored the most goals from set-pieces this season and that is largely down to Cresswell's deliveries into the box. On top of that, he makes 1.4 key passes per game and has crossed the ball 124 times (4th highest), making him dangerous down the left-hand side.

He has also now produced back-to-back assists, making it four in his last seven matches. Cresswell has eight assists in total according to FPL. This is the highest amount out of any defender in the Premier League this season, while he also has seven clean sheets to his name.

Cresswell v Man City

West Ham face Aston Villa (A), Fulham (A) and Sheffield United (H) in their next three fixtures, with the latter two both struggling in front of goal this term. The Blades have the worst scoring record in the league with 12 goals, whereas Fulham are the fourth-worst, scoring 17 goals.

This gives Cresswell added value over the next few game week's, because he brings potential for clean sheets as well as attacking returns. 

Will you transfer in the West Ham defender?

Ahead of GW22's deadline at 4.30pm on Tuesday, Aaron Cresswell could be a great transfer to make for your FPL team. He brings potential for points on both ends of the pitch and West Ham have some favourable fixtures coming up. 

The highest-scoring defender is available for only £5.5m, which is a bargain compared to the £7.4m you would pay for Andrew Robertson or the £6.0m for Manchester City's Ruben Dias. 

With his incredible value, Cresswell stands out amongst most other Premier League defenders and should not be overlooked by FPL managers ahead of GW22.