West Ham United are reportedly willing to sell three of their strikers during the summer transfer window.
It has been reported by The Sun this week that West Ham will consider selling Marko Arnautovic, Lucas Perez and Javier Hernandez in the summer as Manuel Pellegrini looks to move some of the highest earners off the club’s books.
Between them, the trio have scored 14 goals in the Premier League this term. Arnautovic has done well by contributing half of those goals, but neither Hernandez or Perez have exactly captured the imagination during their time at the London Stadium.
That may make it difficult for Pellegrini to complete the kind of striker overhaul that he is probably hoping for come the end of the season. Arnautovic is arguably the only one of the trio who could demand a marquee fee.
So perhaps Pellegrini’s plans would hint that the Irons boss is considering handing Xande Silva a more prominent role with the club next season.
Silva has made one brief Premier League appearance for the Hammers after arriving in the summer and also appeared in the FA Cup, but he has certainly caught the eye with his form for the under-23s, with seven goals in just six appearances for the youngsters.
Should Pellegrini manage to get the three first-teamers off the books, the Portuguese should temporarily move right up the pecking order. And while new signings will undoubtedly come in, it would perhaps not be a huge surprise if the 21-year-old did end up in a much better position than the one he is in now.
And based on how so many of West Ham youngsters have taken to life in the first-team this season, there is no reason why Silva cannot prove to be a success if given a chance.
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