Why Nottingham Forest’s Britt Assombalonga could be the solution to West Ham United’s striking needs

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The last player West Ham United signed from Nottingham Forest has been arguably their best this season.

West Ham United scoured the globe for strikers this summer, with little success – but they could do worse than to look closer to home when the January window opens.

While the temptation to unearth the next Dimitri Payet or Manuel Lanzini was understandable, let’s not forget last season’s other star and where he came from. Michail Antonio is perhaps the only Hammers player to carry his 2015-16 form into the current campaign, and is by far and away the club’s top scorer with six goals. But his previous club hail from neither the French riviera nor the United Arab Emirates, but rather the banks of the River Trent.

Nottingham Forest may have struggled collectively in recent seasons, but they are rarely short of talented individuals. Antonio was one; RB Leipzig’s Oliver Burke another; and Britt Assombalonga is the latest.

The Congo striker struck twice in Forest’s 2-0 win at Ipswich on Saturday, taking his tally to an incredible six goals from four starts this season, and his record of a goal every 56 minutes is, in fact, the best of any Championship player to have scored more than once in 2016-17 – beating Newcastle’s Dwight Gayle by almost 30 minutes.

Prior to this season, it had been a torrid 18 months for Assombalonga, who was sidelined with a serious knee injury. However, with his problems seemingly now behind him, Premier League clubs’ attentions are sure to have piqued as we approach the transfer window. With the futures of both Simone Zaza and Jonathan Calleri uncertain, West Ham should seize the initiative and sign the 23-year-old – before Forest’s impending takeover goes through.

Regardless of the step up in quality, few are as quick, strong and composed as Assombalonga – he’s also not bad with his head for someone touching five-foot-ten. And if he and Antonio can even half-replicate their form of two seasons ago, the Hammers will have struck gold.