West Ham have now moved to solve their issues at the top of the pitch, tabling an offer to sign a “special” new forward for Graham Potter in the coming weeks, with the player himself open to the move.
West Ham face striker crisis
Graham Potter’s first game in charge of West Ham saw them eliminated from the FA Cup courtesy of fellow Premier League side Aston Villa, who came away with a 2-1 win over the Hammers.
But his task, to improve on West Ham’s current form and lift them out of 14th place in the top flight, has got off to the worst possible start. That came as summer signing Niclas Fullkrug went down with an injury just 15 minutes into the game, having to be replaced by veteran forward Danny Ings.
Now, The Times report that the Germany international striker will be sidelined for three months with his latest hamstring injury, having only just recovered from his last long term setback.
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It’s been a busy start to life under Graham Potter.
It leaves the Hammers woefully short in attack too. Michail Antonio is still recovering from a car crash and may not feature again this season, while Jarrod Bowen has suffered a fractured foot and is expected to be out for several more weeks still before returning to first team action, leaving just Ings as a recognised senior striker for Potter to call on.
According to Fabrizio Romano, West Ham plan to address that in the January market and are set to “bring in new striker in the next days/weeks”, and now they have made a bid for a familiar face.
West Ham table offer for “special” striker
That comes as the Boot Room report that the Hammers have once more tabled an offer to sign Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran this window as they look to solve their striker issues. The London side were keen to sign him in the summer window and were in protracted talks over a move only for it to break down, with the Colombian instead signing a new deal at Villa Park.
However, he is again the subject of intense speculation after starting just four Premier League games this season, though he has scored 7 times in the top flight so far.
|
Jhon Duran in the Premier League 24/25 |
|
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
18 |
|
Starts |
4 |
|
Goals |
7 |
|
Assists |
0 |
|
Minutes per goal/assist |
84.5 |
Dubbed “special” by current boss Unai Emery, Paris Saint Germain are said to be keen, and now West Ham have also thrown their hat into the ring. According to the report, the Hammers made an offer “in excess” of £30m to sign the 21-year-old forward, but it was quickly rebuffed by Villa, with the bid being ‘miles away’ from their valuation of the young striker.
For his part, Duran is thought to be open to a move to the London Stadium as he looks for regular opportunities to start games, something that is a rarity with Ollie Watkins clearly Emery’s favoured option to lead the line in the midlands.
However, with four and a half years left to run on his £75,000 a week deal in the Midlands, it would take a hefty sum to prise him away from Villa Park.
