West Ham must solve their issue with strikers

Time Stamp: February 7, 2022 8:09 AM

west ham strikers

West Ham are a curious club who have seldom profited from consistently good strikers. Most of their cult heroes over recent times have been playmakers, or wingers who have converted into centre forwards.

Paolo Di Canio is an example, as was, Dimitri Payet. Even Carlos Tevez, whose short spell at the club in 2006/07 was shrouded in controversy and only came good for a handful of games, operated off the front man rather than as the focal point. Their current hero is Michail Antonio, a former utility man who honed his finishing to become the Hammers’ greatest ever Premier League goalscorer.

It is not for the want of trying. There have been plenty of talented strikers who have attempted to make a name for themselves at West Ham over the years. Freddie Kanoute became one of the best in Europe with Sevilla after leaving Upton Park, via a spell with London rivals Tottenham. Jermain Defoe cut his teeth in the east end too, before moving to White Hart Lane.

Then there was Dean Ashton, a record signing when he joined in 2006, but whose story is one of the most tragic and frustrating in modern English football. A talented, technical and strong front man and an update on what was thought typical, saw his career decimated by injury. Andy Carroll was much more of a throwback to a bygone era but there were hopes for him too, only for his career to go the same way, albeit without the line in the sand of early retirement.

When David Moyes cut his losses on Ivory Coast striker Sebastien Haller last January, it was a huge shame. He’d cost £45m from Eintracht Frankfurt 18 months earlier and much was expected of him but he flattered to deceive.

Moyes was proven right. West Ham made a late and surprising dash for the Champions League inspired by another attacking midfielder,  Jesse Lingard, whose nine loan goals took care of the burden in attack alongside Czech midfielder Tomas Soucek. Even then, it felt like only a matter of time until Haller would be replaced, especially once the top four charge fell short and Lingard didn’t make his move permanent.

Antonio has developed into a Premier League marksman, so it would be unfair to suggest West Ham are lacking any true firepower. However, he’s been injured at times and, in his absence, they’ve looked toothless. Moyes can’t be criticised for moving on from Haller, despite the fact that he scored in every Champions League group game for Ajax this season, as it made sense and he has found solutions. He’ll need to act in the summer, though.

The Scot admitted they were close with a number of deals in January but they didn’t really get going. A bid for Benfica’s Uruguayan striker Darwin Nunez came too late to complete. But that should give West Ham fans hope that the clubs will be chasing strikers at the end of the season and Nunez is clearly the man they want to take them onto the next level.

Competition will be fierce, of course, with the 22-year-old garnering plenty of attention across Europe, while Newcastle are keen on him as well. Should they stay up, they’ll cause a headache for direct rivals with their hefty financial backing.

Speculation linking the Hammers with moves for the likes of Raphinha and Kelvin Phillips in January could worry supporters. Both players are fantastic and certainly show ambition from the club but the attempts felt scattergun, without a depth of planning and quite impulsive. The great thing about Moyes’ current reign is he has eradicated that culture from the club, making them less flashy and more shrewd, just as he did at Everton. They can’t lose that from here, or things could fall apart.

It was common during Moyes’ reign at Goodison Park that he didn’t use a striker, instead getting more from the likes of Tim Cahill and Marouane Fellaini. But money was tight and he may be backed by more funding at the London Stadium, certainly judging by the Nunez bid.

Between Moyes’ nous and the board’s willingness to spend big on the right player, there should be a great chance of West Ham finally solving their long issue with strikers. There is an opportunity to build something sustainable and long-term, but to do that, they need another regular source of goals.

 

 

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