West Ham have reportedly made contact to sign a £164,000-per-week forward who Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is a big fan of.
Hammers search for new striker
As could’ve been predicted, an injury to preferred striker Michail Antonio has left manager David Moyes with a small conundrum to solve over the next two weeks. While the Jamaican’s injury is nowhere near as bad as first feared, West Ham will still be left short of natural forward options.
Star winger Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus can be used in more central roles as alternatives to Antonio, with Moyes having those makeshift options and the out-of-favour forward Danny Ings to choose from right now. West Ham, even before Antonio’s knock, have been prioritising the addition of a new number nine with technical director Tim Steidten currently at work identifying options.
Stuttgart star Serhou Guirassy is a target for West Ham while there have been reports Moyes could go back in for Hugo Ekitike after failing to sign him from Paris-Saint Germain in the summer. Pundit Gabriel Agbonlahor, commenting before Antonio’s latest absence, told Football Insider that a new forward is an absolute necessity for West Ham in January.
“100%. Antonio, similar to myself, struggles with hamstring injuries,” said the former Villa striker.
“When you’re that quick and strong, you’re always going to get muscle injuries. It’s when, not if. Antonio shouldn’t be playing in the Europa League groups. They need another player to come in and start, but Danny Ings isn’t at that level.
“They definitely need to get another one in January, or you could be looking at bringing someone from the Under-23s or playing Benrahma as a false nine. They’ve definitely got to watch Antonio’s minutes.”
Another interesting transfer option to be mentioned by the press is former Chelsea star Timo Werner.
West Ham make contact to sign Werner
According to a report in the print edition of The Mirror (via West Ham Zone), West Ham have made contact to sign Werner from RB Leipzig.
The Germany international is out of favour at Leipzig and is open to making a return to the Premier League, meaning he could well contemplate a move to West Ham.
Fulham and Crystal Palace have also made approaches for Werner, who’s scored 11 goals in 35 Bundesliga appearances since re-joining the Bundesliga side from Chelsea in 2022 (Werner stats – WhoScored).
Liverpool were once heavily linked with a move for the 27-year-old, and Klopp has expressed his admiration for Werner who he called a “great player”.
“Timo Werner is a great player, Kai Havertz is a great player,” Klopp said in 2020.
“Right time, opportunity – everything has to come together. Six, seven weeks ago, we didn’t know if we could play again this year. If we hadn’t played the second half of the season, we would have thought, ‘OK, when can you really play football again?’ And now it starts right away.”
On a reported £164,000-per-week (Salary Sport), it will be interesting to see if West Ham take their approach further.
