Hammers need for a back up striker to work in tandem with Michail Antonio, is a worst kept secret that has received even more column inches than the Declan Rice transfer saga that has been whipped up by the media for what seems to be an eternity. David Moyes has come in for a lot of criticism for not bringing in an additional striker, he has cited the difficulty in (a) finding a striker who fits into the club's fiscal zone and (b) finding a striker willing to play second fiddle to a player who is currently the joint best striker in Europe!
Out of the Billion names mentioned 'linked' to the club, it transpires that David Moyes has whittled a huge amount of enquiries down to a short list of just two players, Genk's Paul Onuachu and Clermont's Mohamed Bayo. Both players could definitely do a job and both players will be available for transfer during the January window and beyond.
Aware on interest from West Ham and a host of other clubs, Genk swiftly moved to sign Onuachu up for a further three years in order to protect his resale value. However, despite signing the new deal, the player, his representatives and the manager at Genk know full well that the player WILL be leaving sooner, if not later.
Finances for clubs in Europe have been devastated by the Pandemic, so Genk will HAVE to sell to the highest bidder. However, clubs in France have had the double whammy of the Pandemic AND the total collapse of their TV revenue due to the failed Media Pro take over from Canal Plus. The latter eventually picking up the pieces of the broadcasting fiasco by screening the remaining games that Media Pro failed to pay for, BUT at a vastly reduced fee!
Clubs went big, but are now forced to take small! The consequence of this financial meltdown are that clubs in Ligue 1, with only the exception of PSG, have to take any 'reasonable ' offer for their players just to try and make ends meet. Therefore acquiring Clermont's Mohamed Bayo should be relatively straight forward, unless there is a 'Levyism' approach. Bayo is only 23 years old and would represent a shrewd signing by Moyes, unfortunately the player will be off to the Africa cup of Nations in the New Year and therefore ant y move for the player will probably be delayed until the summer.
Moyes will get the chance to see Paul Onuachu in person, not once but twice as Hammers face off against Genk in the Europa League Cup, at 6'7" he can hardly be missed can he? Either or both of these players will be more than welcome at the London Bowl, Onuachu is older at 27 years of age, but is a real goal threat however he, like Bayo, will be called up to play for his country Nigeria in the Nations Cup.
The last couple of weeks have highlighted just how tenuous relying on Antonio can be, so far the club has been lucky, but the situation is forcing David Moyes into some difficult decisions regarding player selections. He has to juggle his squad to accommodate an extremely congested fixture list, especially so IF Hammers progress on ALL fronts. - LN
Comments
nice
position to be in tho !