West Ham United are stepping up their bid to land a top striker with the likes of Charlie Austin, Javier Hernandez, Gervinho and Mattia Destro linked.
The Hammers have been one of the busiest Premier League clubs in the summer transfer market spending nearly £25 million so far.
Co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold have been true to their word by investing significant funds to strengthen new boss Slaven Bilic’s squad.
So far the East Londoners have brought in goalkeeper Darren Randolph on a free transfer, midfielders Pedro Obiang and Dimitri Payet for a combined total of around £15 million, defender Angelo Ogbonna for around £8 million and Carl Jenkinson in on loan again from Arsenal for a fee believed to be £2 million.
The Irons had already signed left back Stephen Hendrie from Scottish side Hamilton back in January and he officially became a West Ham player on July 1st.
But there has been the promise of more to come with Sullivan’s son Jack confirming on Twitter ahead of Jenkinson’s capture that the club will be trying to sign ‘another three or four players’.
At least one of those will be a striker and if recent reports are to be believed the main targets are Queens Park Rangers’ Charlie Austin, Manchester United’s Javier Hernandez and Roma strike partners Gervinho and Matia Destro.
So what will West Ham be getting?
Charlie Austin
Anyone watching the Premier League last season will know all about Austin’s exploits.
His goals were in vain last season as Rangers were relegated but they look set to earn him a big money move back to the Premier League this summer with the Hammers being heavily linked by the likes of the Daily Mail.
Bilic is said to be considering offering flop Matt Jarvis as a makeweight in any potential deal but one thing Austin will guarantee his side is goals.
Austin’s record is impressive. He bagged 58 goals in 113 matches for Burnley and QPR before smashing 18 goals in a remarkable debut season in the top flight.
As a forward he is a natural finisher, although it remains to be seen whether the club could accommodate Austin and Andy Carroll in the same side.
Javier Hernandez
Hernandez is coming off the back of a mixed season on loan from Manchester United at Real Madrid.
He bemoaned a lack of playing time in the Spanish capital but was memorably Los Blancos’ goalscoring hero in their Champions League quarter-final against city rivals Atletico.
Speculation has been rife in the last 24 hours linking him with a move to join Bilic’s revolution, as per the London Evening Standard.
Should the Hammers bring Chicarito to Upton Park he would undoubtedly be expecting first team football.
And the 27-year-old Mexican’s record would demand it with an impressive goals to games ratio for his hometown club Guadalajara of 26 in 64 games and 37 for the Red Devils in 102 appearances, many of which were as sub.
What is most impressive, though, is his record on the international stage where he has scored a fantastic 40 goals in 74 matches for Mexico.
He is the sort of striker who could work well playing off either Diafra Sakho or Andy Carroll in West Ham’s attack and offers all-important pace.
Gervinho
According to the likes of the Metro, the Hammers are ‘working hard’ on a £10 million deal for the former Arsenal man Gervinho.
The 28-year-old Ivorian scored just nine goals in 46 games for the Gunners before being shipped off to Serie A side Roma in 2013.
His time in Italy has not been littered with goals either, as the African netted just 11 times in 57 matches over two seasons.
His stats for his country read a little better with 20 goals in 70 games.
Clearly spending such big money on Gervinho would represent something of a gamble but he is another player blessed with terrific pace who can also be utilised as a winger.
His style of play and unselfish attitude would also suit the type of game Bilic favours, attacking with pace on the counter.
Mattia Destro
According to the Metro, Mattia Destro is very much on West Ham’s radar with the paper claiming recently that his agent was ‘in London to finalise a deal’.
Destro at 24 has lots of potential and has scored 41 goals in 117 club games so far for the likes of Roma and last season on loan at AC Milan.
The Italy international has eight caps and was the subject of intense transfer speculation last year being heavily linked with moves to West Ham’s London rivals Chelsea and Real Madrid.
Destro is famous in Italy for an outrageous 40-yard half-volley in a 2-0 victory over Hellas Verona.
But it could be telling that Roma were willing to loan him out to a rival last season.
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