West Ham United have won the race for striker Mipo Odubeko.
West Ham United don’t have many options up front, and that has tempted them into striking a deal for a talented young teenager.
The Hammers splashed out on Sebastien Haller over the summer, yet despite letting Andy Carroll, Lucas Perez, Marko Arnautovic, Javier Hernandez and Jordan Hugill go, the only other attacking addition they made was Albian Ajeti.
Haller is clearly quality, but Ajeti has yet to show anything in a West Ham shirt, and it’s clear that the Hammers need another goalscoring threat if they’re to challenge the top six.
West Ham have now confirmed the signing of free agent striker Mipo Odubeko, who turned down a new deal at Manchester United over the summer and has been weighing up his options.
The 17-year-old striker hit 35 goals for United’s academy last season, and looks to be a hugely exciting prospect that West Ham can attempt to bring through their ranks over the coming years.
It’s an exciting deal for the Hammers, but it’s a blow to Newcastle United, who were keen to lure Odubeko up to St James’ Park according to a report from the Daily Mail.
The Chronicle claimed recently that Newcastle are hoping to continue with their under-23 recruitment, having brought in Jake Turner, Kyle Scott and Ludwig Francillette.
Odubeko was seemingly lined up to continue that recruitment drive, but West Ham have managed to swoop in and pinch him from under their noses.
That’s a blow, as developing Odubeko to bolster Newcastle’s struggling attack would have been ideal, handing the club a fine young goalscorer to build over the coming the years.
Newcastle may need to go out and find another young striker to bring in, and they’ll be keeping tabs on Odubeko’s progress at West Ham to see whether they’ve really missed out on a top talent for the future.
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