West Ham want a striker from La Liga giants Villarreal in January – but they are targeting Cedric Bakambu rather than Carlos Bacca.
Since Davids Gold and Sullivan completed their purchase of West Ham United back in 2010, a whole host of misfiring strikers have sauntered through the club’s doors. But you could count on one hand how many could actually be considered a success.
Even Javier Hernandez, the former Manchester United goal-machine with a proven track record in the Premier League, has struggled in claret and blue since his summer move from Bayer Leverkusen – although that is more down to Slaven Bilic playing him out wide for some reason.
And with Marca reporting that West Ham could be tempted to pay big for Villarreal striker Cedric Bakambu, who is valued at around £25 million, supporters could be forgiven for feeling a little wary.
On this occasion, however, they can rest easy. In Bakambu, West Ham appear to be targeting a player who is not only perfect for English football but in the form of his life too.
The right man?
Blessed with real pace, power and an ice-cool finish, the Congolese striker has nine goals in 14 games this season. In fact, only Lionel Messi and, ahem, Simone Zaza have scored more in La Liga than Bakambu in 2017/18.
And West Ham fans should be relieved that the club are targeting him rather than his strike partner. In contrast to Bakambu, Carlos Bacca is yet to really find his form back in Spain following a summer move from AC Milan, netting three times in 11 La Liga games.
Yet, the Colombian is a striker West Ham have targeted before. Back in the summer of 2016, The Mirror reported that they agreed a £25 million fee with Milan, only for Bacca to reject the move.
And it makes perfect sense that West Ham would now move on to his team-mate. Bacca is 31 now and his best days appear to be behind him – especially as he’s a striker who relies on his rapid speed in behind the defence.
By contrast, Bakambu, five years his junior, is a man on the up and well worth his £25 million price-tag.
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