Three Valencia alternatives for West Ham to consider
Published:
In addition to spurning a two-goal lead against Astra Giurgiu last week, West Ham were handed a second sizeable blow in the same 90-minute segment when Enner Valencia was stretchered off with a serious-looking knee injury.
The Ecuadorian striker has since revealed he doesn’t require surgery to amend the ailment, but he will be sidelined for a lengthy spell.
To combat this newly-presented problem, Twitter-savvy David ‘dg’ Gold has revealed the Irons will be looking at alternative options in the final third, with Diafra Sakho and Modibo Maiga the only fit forwards available to Slaven Bilic at present.
Unless this dearth of line-leaders is promptly addressed, the 8/15 saying West Ham will finish below the Premier League equator this term looks difficult to oppose.
So where might the Hammers turn in the attacking hour of need?
Mickael Le Bihan
David Sullivan, partner in crime to ‘dg’ in the West Ham boardroom, took it upon himself to raid Ligue 2 last summer, signing Sakho following a bumper 20-goal campaign for Metz the year before.
In doing so, the Irons co-owner confirmed his eye for a striker is as sharp as whatever he uses when out hat shopping, with the Senegalese striker bagging ten last term, the first seven coming across his first septet of starts.
No one was more prolific than right-winger Le Bihan in the French second tier in 2014/15; perhaps he’s another Sullivan masterstroke in waiting?
Charlie Austin
A princely haul of 18 Premier League goals has not yet been enough to convince buyers he’s worth the £15m QPR are demanding.
Newcastle have been heavily linked, while Leicester have reportedly had a bid turned down.
If their desperation is genuine, West Ham won’t mind paying above what the general consensus value Austin at; his exploits from the previous campaign suggest they could do worse.
Paolo Guerrero
Standout performances at the World Cup were the premise for West Ham’s £13m outlay on Valencia 12 months ago and Guerrero was just as devastating for Peru in this summer’s headline international tournament, the Copa America.
Alongside Alexis Sanchez, the former Bayern Munich hitman was the competition’s leading scorer with four goals, one more than his Ecuadorian counterpart mustered in Brazil last summer and three more than he registered in the same event.
With two of Germany’s and Brazil’s biggest clubs on his CV, Guerrero’s pedigree is enviable, while at 31 he wouldn’t cost much and could prove an effective stopgap solution.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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