West Ham United have to be very happy with how their season is going, but the transfer window is another story.
It’s been over three weeks since the Hammers sold Sebastien Haller for more than £20m, and they still haven’y spent any of that money.
Jesse Lingard now looks set to join the club on loan, but the repercussions of that deal seem to be very worrying.
Indeed, David Ornstein claims that the signing of Lingard may see the Hammers not sign a striker this month.
Understandably, fans aren’t happy about this and we can’t help but feel that they have every right to be annoyed.
West Ham have only really gone one senior recognised number nine in the squad in the shape of Michail Antonio, and even then, he didn’t start his career as a striker.
The Hammers have been brilliant in front of goal this season, netting 30 times in 20 games, and while that has been great to see, they don’t have enough depth up top.
If Antonio picks up an injury, which he has done many times in the past, the Hammers will have to either play someone out of position or field a young, inexperienced player.
Of course, you don’t necessarily need to have a quality striker on the pitch to score goals, after all, Tomas Soucek is the Hammers’ top scorer this season and he’s a midfield player, while Jarrod Bowen has also chipped in effectively from the wing.
However, not having depth in the number nine role makes West Ham a lot less dynamic and a bit more predictable.
If Antonio goes down injured, it will be a lot easier for teams to nullify the threats posed by the likes of Bowen and Soucek if they don’t have to keep tabs on a quality centre-forward, whereas if West Ham have a quality striker on the pitch, it’s nigh on impossible to deal with all of their threats at once.
For the first time in years, West Ham have a serious shot of making the top four this season, and they will be playing with fire if they don’t bolster the striker position at this crucial juncture.
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