Iain Dowie has waited a while to see Moussa Dembele in claret and blue.
But, three years after suggesting that his former employers should take a look at a striker taking Scottish football by storm with Celtic, are West Ham United finally ready to take the plunge and bring Moussa Dembele back to the English capital?
If they do, their first task will be to get the France U21 international scoring again.
It is just three months since Dembele scored that famous brace as Lyon knocked Manchester City out of the Champions League quarter-finals, all the while taking his personal tally to 24 for the season.
And, it is fair to say the former Fulham youngster hasn’t exactly started where he left off in 2020/21.
Lyon might still be giddy after the weekend’s 2-1 win over bitter rivals St Etienne, but even victory in the Rhone derby must have tasted rather bittersweet for Dembele.
He had not one but two goals ruled out for the closest of offside calls. Ten games into the season, Dembele is yet to find the net.
In truth, that is why he is suddenly within West Ham’s reach.
The Sun reports that David Moyes is a huge fan of the one-time Celtic talisman, with Lyon willing to listen to offers in the £30 million bracket in January.
It almost goes without saying that, if Dembele was in top form, he would be valued at a much bigger fee than £30 million and, with all due respect, he would also be courting interest from clubs a little higher up the footballing pyramid.
But, as ex-West Ham targetman Dowie told Alan Brazil on talkSPORT all the way back in 2017, this is a striker with a lot of strings to his bow. He’s got more to his game than goals.
“I’d go and grab him,” the Hammers hero explained. “He’s got a bit of both – size and pace. I think Dembele would be a big move.”
Blessed with searing pace, the ability to shrug off even the biggest of defenders and boasting predatory instinct inside the penalty area, a fit and firing Dembele can take West Ham to a whole new level – perhaps putting European qualification within their grasp for the first time in five years.
And who cares about a ten game goalless streak, really? Form is temporary after all and this is a striker who has averaged 22 goals in the last five seasons.
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