West Ham should definitely be focusing their summer transfer dealings on a new defensive midfielder following the mega-money exit of Declan Rice to Arsenal.
But that certainly doesn’t mean that they should neglect other areas, particularly attack, which undoubtedly needs plenty of attention before the new season gets underway.
The likes of Gianluca Scamacca and Danny Ings have failed to reach the heights expected of them at the London Stadium, paving the way for Michail Antonio to be the number one striker.
But that could change next season, with the Jamaican international potentially on the move this summer after having “private negotiations” about a move to Saudi Arabian club At-Ettifaq, according to Sport 24 (18 July).
The versatile player has been a superb servant to the Hammers, but it may just be time for the club to part ways with the striker.
At 33, he is ageing, and the East London side need a young and exciting attacker to help fire them to a successful season next time out.
One such option is Arsenal ace Folarin Balogun, who the Hammers have identified as a “priority target” to bolster their attacking ranks, as per FootballTransfers (22 June).
More importantly, Antonio now has just one year remaining on his current West Ham contract, meaning the club could lose the Jamaican for free next summer.
That is not a scenario that the powers that be at the London Stadium will want to happen, meaning it is now best to cash in on the striker this summer.
The £105million from the Rice deal can be used partly on a new midfielder, but manager David Moyes can also use some of the fee to bring in a new striker to replace Antonio.
