While their performances last year and at the start of the season suggest otherwise, West Ham United do have a talented squad.
The likes of Freddie Potts, Jarrod Bowen, Mateus Fernandes, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, El Hadji Malick Diouf and Kyle Walker-Peters are all good to great players who will help move the East Londoners away from a Premier League relegation scrap as the season goes on.
However, one area of the team that the Hammers have consistently failed to address is up top, with neither Niclas Füllkrug nor Callum Wilson good enough to lead the line.
Fortunately, West Ham are now being linked with an inform number nine who could end their striker curse and was even linked to Harry Kane as a youngster.
West Ham target Füllkrug and Wilson upgrade
Before his injury, Füllkrug had made seven appearances for West Ham this season, in which he failed to score or assist a single goal, which makes news of his likely departure in January rather welcome to most fans.
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Wilson, on the other hand, has been able to find the back of the net twice, in fact, but even so, he has hardly blown anyone away in his nine appearances so far this season, and with his injury record being what it is, he cannot be relied upon.
So, with all that in mind, it’s clear that the East Londoners are in desperate need of a new striker once the window opens, and fortunately, that might happen.
According to a recent report from Turkey, West Ham are among several sides interested in man of the moment, Troy Parrott.
Alongside the Hammers, the report claims that Everton, Leeds United and Stuttgart are keen on signing the Irish international from AZ Alkmaar, who want at least €30m for him, which is about £26m.
It could be a tough transfer to get over the line, but with how well Parrott has played in recent years, and how much of an upgrade on Füllkrug and Wilson he’d be, it’s one worth fighting for.
Why Parrott would be massive upgrade on Wilson & Füllkrug
It’s the obvious place to start, but it’s also the most important: Parrott would be a huge upgrade on Wilson and Füllkrug because he’s simply the better goalscorer.
For example, while the two West Ham strikers have just two goals between them this season, the Irishman has already racked up an astounding tally of 13 goals and two assists in 14 appearances, totalling 928 minutes.
That comes out to a sensational average of 1.07 goal involvements every game, or one every 61.86 minutes.
Appearances
14
Starts
11
Minutes
928′
Goals
13
Assists
2
Goal Involvements per Match
1.07
Minutes per Goal Involvement
61.86′
Points per Game
2.21
Such an incredible rate of return makes the claim of one analyst, made over five years ago, that he was “reminiscent of Harry Kane” as a youngster look rather reasonable today.
It’s not just this season that the former Tottenham Hotspur gem has been on fire, though, as he ended last season with an excellent haul of 20 goals and five assists in 47 games.
With that said, the second reason he’d be an excellent upgrade on the Hammers’ ageing forwards is that he’s still just 23 years old, and therefore has plenty left in the tank.
Moreover, while he did have some injury problems early on in his career, he has not missed more than nine games for club and country in any of the last three campaigns.
Finally, as was made quite clear over the last week or so, the Dublin-born game-changer is someone for the big occasions.
For example, he scored both goals in Ireland’s 2-0 win over Portugal, and then followed that up with what is already a legendary hat-trick against Hungary, securing the country’s place in the World Cup play-offs.
Moreover, his third goal was practically the final kick of the game, suggesting he isn’t someone to flap under the most immense of pressure.
Ultimately, while it might be difficult to get ahead of the other interested parties, West Ham should be doing all they can to sign Parrott in January, as he might be the man to end their striker curse.
£67m spent & no Wilson or Fullkrug: Nuno's dream West Ham XI after January
This is the dream West Ham starting line-up that Nuno could build in the January window.
ByJack Salveson Holmes
