David Moyes has hinted that he could continue to use Andriy Yarmolenko as a striker for West Ham United rather than signing an established number nine this month.
The Hammers have been in the market for a new goalscorer after selling Sebastien Haller to Ajax earlier this month.
But with four days left in the transfer window, West Ham have so far failed to replace the French forward.
Yarmolenko, a £17.5 million signing by the Irons in 2018, has been used in a central attacking role by Moyes at times this season.
And the Scottish manager has revealed that he won’t sign somebody for the sake of doing it, hinting that the Ukraine international could continue in that role.
“We’ve seen Yarmolenko come in and do OK for us at centre forward,” he told The Sun. “I don’t want to be in a position where I go and bring somebody just for the sake of it. And I’ve always said that if I can look within my own group to find solutions I’ll try and do so.”
This is definitely a bit of a gamble by Moyes.
West Ham have had a lot of the month to replace Haller and if the short-term replacement is actually Yarmolenko – who hasn’t scored in 12 Premier League games this season – then it’s a risk.
The East Londoners are one injury to Michail Antonio away from being in serious trouble and given that they were fourth in the Premier League table before Liverpool’s win at Spurs on Thursday, United do have a lot to lose if their attack is blunted for the rest of the season.
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