Armstrong-A Saphire In The Making

There are certain football players who look as if they came from the Halcyon days of the sport back in the fifties, one such player is Hammers transfer target, Blackburn Rover's Adam Armstrong. The powerful striker is only 24 years old, but looks 34 and even his name seems to have come from a bygone era!

West Ham want to sign Adam Armstrong this summer, but now face competition from Norwich City, however the promoted champions have already stated that they will NOT be making widespread purchases, and will operate within the same tight fiscal constraints that they operated with during their last season in the Barclays Premier League.

Due to the devastating financial effects of the Covid Pandemic, particularly in the Championship and lower leagues, Armstrong could now be available for as little as £10 Million. Whereas pre-Covid his value would have been at least double that, probably more like £25 Million.

This is another example of how future deals will be conducted, at least in the short term, because clubs are so desperate for the money they need to make up their trading losses sustained due to the lack of fans in attendance in grounds. Blackburn Rovers are one of those clubs that have seen their income severely impacted by the Pandemic and have to sell players, even if they don't want to, just to try and make ends meet.
In an ideal World West Ham would have liked to have signed Ivan Toney, but that's not going to happen now that Brentford have been promoted to the top flight, but Armstrong is an accomplished striker as well, although not quite at the same level, but he finished second in the Championship scoring charts behind Ivan Toney, with 28 goals in 40 league games for Blackburn this season.

So desperate is Blackburn's need for funding, that they have had to reduce their asking price for Armstrong by £6 Million, and are now willing to listen to offers in the region of £10 Million. David Moyes loves to 'plunder' the Lower Leagues, particularly the Championship, and with the exception of Jordan Hugill, ALL of his acquisitions have been top notch.

'Incredibly mobile, possesses blistering pace and works his socks off each and every time he takes to the pitch' You couldn't get closer to the Moyes template, bit by bit the Irons manager is replacing the dead wood with the young and hungry, which is all part of his 'master plan' of developing the club.

Worryingly, rumours about Hammers supposed interest in Oliver Giroud and Marko Arnautovic still abound, and whilst we appreciate the need to bolster the striking department with very little money available, surely the club can do better? Signing either or both players seems like a counter intuitive move when bearing in mind Moyes's public declaration that he wants to model the club's recruitment policy along the lines of RB Leipzig and the other Red Bull organisations.

You can keep your has beens, acquiring such players is a mistake Hammers made regularly in the past, there comes a time when a bit of clear thinking is required, and yes there is a possibility one of either Arnautovic or Giroud might eventually end up at the London Stadium, however the club should exhaust every other option before going down the tried and tested yet ultimately fruitless path of signing such players, far better to get a young player with 'old' sounding name. - Ed