David Moyes believes West Ham United would struggle to find a better backup for Michail Antonio than Jarrod Bowen after failing to secure a striker transfer, he told West Ham TV.
The Irons boss is adamant the Hammers sought to strengthen their attacking ranks in the mid-season market. But he admits the east London natives fell short on ‘one or two’ late deals. Their failings leaves Antonio as the only recognised striker at the club once again.
Moyes has lacked an out-and-out centre-forward alternative for the past year after selling Sebastien Haller to Ajax. The Ivorian left the London Stadium in the January 2021 market for just £20m after taking a £25m hit on the club-record £45m paid to Eintracht Frankfurt.
Reports linked West Ham with a handful of strikers throughout the latest transfer window before it slammed shut on Monday. 90min also claimed Duvan Zapata wanted to join. But the Irons could not agree his loan with Atalanta in time, despite submitting a deal sheet.
Moyes believes Bowen is best backup striker West Ham could want
Yet while Moyes wanted a striker, he also admits West Ham found it hard to sign a player happy to be Antonio’s understudy. The Scot also feels he has the best backup the Hammers could want in Bowen, a natural winger he has sporadically deployed as a de facto striker.
“It wasn’t for the want of trying, that’s for sure,” Moyes said. “Supporters can be reassured that we were really ambitious in what we were trying to do. We were really ambitious in trying to get good players and players who could help us and make a difference.
“We’ve also got Jarrod Bowen and it would be very difficult to get a better backup to Micky Antonio than Jarrod. We were always looking to try and find replacements in several areas. But it just became pretty difficult in the end, and we missed out on one or two late on.”
Moyes has fielded Bowen at striker 14 times since his £22m move to West Ham from Hull in January 2020. The 25-year-old has also scored four times and provided three assists over those outings in all competitions. Six of his outings and two goals have come this season.
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