A very intriguing claim has surfaced from across the channel as West Ham United pursue a new striker for manager Graham Potter, with the Irons potentially closing in on their replacement for Niclas Füllkrug and Michail Antonio.
West Ham targeting new centre-forward after injury blows
Summer signing Fullkrug will be out for the foreseeable future after picking up a hamstring problem, while the fractured leg resulting from Antonio’s horrific car crash is expected to keep him sidelined for more than a year.
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The Hammers are badly in need of a centre-forward.
As a result, Potter has been left desperately short of natural striking options, and star winger Jarrod Bowen is also unavailable to play there in a makeshift role – as he often did under Julen Lopetegui before the Spaniard was dismissed.
Some good news for West Ham is that Bowen is targeting an earlier return than anticipated, as confirmed by Potter in a recent press conference.
|
West Ham’s next five Premier League fixtures |
Date |
|---|---|
|
Crystal Palace (home) |
January 18 |
|
Aston Villa (away) |
January 26 |
|
Chelsea (away) |
February 3 |
|
Brentford (home) |
February 15 |
|
Arsenal (away) |
February 22 |
“I think if you speak to Jarrod, he will try to tell you he’s ahead of schedule, for sure,” said Potter on Bowen’s injury. “He’s doing everything he can to get on the pitch as soon as possible. We just need to make sure it’s in a safe way, and it’s [in] a good way for him, because we want to get him back, and we want him to stay back.
“But you know Jarrod – he wants to be out there, he wants to play, and we’re trying to pull the reins on him rather than the other way around. He’s fantastic to have around the place.”
Even though Bowen could be an option in the number nine role sooner rather than later, reports still suggest that Potter is more keen for West Ham to sign a new striker before deadline day.
The Hammers are reliably believed to hold an interest in Marseille striker Elye Wahi (Ben Jacobs), while Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg has reported that West Ham have opened talks over signing Taiwo Awoniyi.
Andre Silva “about to leave” RB Leipzig for West Ham
According to German newspaper BILD (via Sport Witness), RB Leipzig striker Andre Silva is on their list of targets, and it is even far more advanced than that.
The outlet boldly claims that Silva is about to leave Leipzig and join West Ham, with there being a serious belief that the Portugal international is on the verge of a move to the London Stadium.
The 29-year-old will also be dropped from the matchday squad for Leipzig’s clash against Stuttgart on Wednesday evening, as a direct result of his pending Premier League move, so this could be one to watch.
It comes after German media reported intensive initial West Ham talks for Silva earlier this week, so their national press appears to be picking up serious noise that the £81,000-per-week forward’s next club may well be the Hammers.
Called a striker in “outstanding condition” by ex-Leipzig boss Marco Rose, Silva boasts a total of 121 senior career goals across spells at a host of top sides.
