West Ham are embarking on yet another new journey after disposing of failed hire Julen Lopetegui, who lasted mere months at the helm of a rapidly sinking ship, and hiring Graham Potter in his stead.
Although Potter lost in the FA Cup Third Round against Aston Villa 2-1, there is optimism that he can improve the team’s standing in the bottom half of the league table, as he played a pivotal role in building Brighton into the European contenders that they are today.
Unfortunately, West Ham still have a lot of work to do on the transfer market after a summer of investments that have mostly backfired. One of those troubled signings is Niclas Fullkrug, a veteran striker who simply cannot get healthy enough to contribute to the Hammers.
Fullkrug just suffered a three-month injury early in the loss to Aston Villa, having just returned from an absence. West Ham were forced to bring on Danny Ings at striker, and he was predictably atrocious.
West Ham realize that they cannot expect sustained success over the coming months with Ings at striker, and Claret and Hugh report that even a source within the club is relaying the Hammers cannot wait to sign a striker and are working on making a signing this January.
Other reports in the English media have linked West Ham to a new striker signing this month. The most frequently mentioned name is Brighton striker Evan Ferguson as a loan target, and while he is a talented young striker, he himself is out injured.
There are slim pickings in the Hammers’ range on the January transfer market at striker, but they obviously have to work hard to sign someone at the position in order to avoid the catastrophic proposition of Ings starting the next several matches up top.
West Ham would be better off with Mohammed Kudus in the false nine role, but that’s still far from ideal for a team in a situation where they need to start winning games now to avoid a relegation fight and give Potter a shot to get his ideas rolling.
We’ll see exactly what West Ham come up with, and while they have not earned much goodwill from their fans with recent moves, it’s at least good to hear word internally that they aren’t going to sit around and pretend like their current striker situation is in any way acceptable.
