West Ham may have had a superb summer transfer window but the jury is out over the club’s big striker decision.
As West Ham fans know only too well by now, the club refused to meet Aston Villa’s asking price for Jhon Duran.
Instead technical director Tim Steidten elected to pay £23.5m for fellow German Niclas Fullkrug and use the difference in budget elsewhere.
Time will tell if that was the right decision from West Ham.
Many fans still feel the club should have signed a younger, more dynamic striker with pace.
There have been misgivings over 31-year-old Fullkrug’s age, lack of pace and injury record.
So far he has already missed more than half West Ham’s matches through injury.
And word is Fullkrug may still be out for some time to come yet.
Where West Ham are concerned there have been far too many cases of ‘the one who got away’ when it comes to forwards.
West Ham’s long list of ones who got away
But just when you thought it wasn’t possible to feel deeper regret in that regard, along comes a bolt from Les Bleus as a reminder.
Because what a striker who held Steidten talks has done will leave West Ham feeling sick.
Duran is just the latest in a long line of unfathomable striker decisions which are haunting West Ham and their fans.
In the last three or four years alone West Ham have turned down the chance to sign five strikers who are now worth at least £250-300m combined.
If Duran’s value was £45-50m before you can probably add at least another £30m to that figure now he’s lighting up the Premier League and signed a new deal.
Then there’s Tammy Abraham.
West Ham had the chance to sign Abraham on two occasions, before he left Chelsea and again during the summer.
Abraham went to Milan instead where he is already impressing. Many felt he would have been ideal for this West Ham team. Now we’ll never know.
Viktor Gyokeres was on a silver platter for West Ham last summer. David Moyes watched him live multiple times and a £17.5m deal was there to be done with Coventry – especially after they lost the play-off final.
Instead Moyes decided the deadly Swede was not up to it.
Don’t even get us started on Julian Alvarez – who Moyes turned down at £14.5m. He joined Man City, won everything in sight and was sold to Atletico for over £80m.
What Ekitike has done will leave West Ham feeling sick
Another striker linked with West Ham for five straight windows is Hugo Ekitike.
The rapid Frenchman actually held talks with Steidten last summer.
And Ekitike reportedly very much liked what he heard about the West Ham project.
West Ham were hesitant, though, after Ekitike’s struggles after a big move to PSG.
In the end he joined Eintracht Frankfurt back in January on loan and it was made permanent for less than £15m in the summer.
Fifteen million English pounds for a 22-year-old with pace to burn who has been likened to Kylian Mbappe and Thierry Henry? Sounds like a no-brainer doesn’t it? Because it was.
Ekitike has scored five goals in eight games for Frankfurt this season to add to his four in 16 on loan during the second half of the last campaign.
Any doubts that the Hammers have dropped another striker clanger were dismissed when Ekitike trained with France’s Under 21s today.
He produced one of the most audacious and breathtakingly brilliant pieces of individual skill you will have seen since the days of Ronaldinho to score a world class goal.
A poor cross was played into Ekitike which went behind him in the box. But he flicked the ball up with one foot and produced a back-heel half volley with the other into the top corner.
The goalkeeper’s reaction of disbelief and incredulity says everything.
Steidten and West Ham’s board probably feel the same.
Another to add to the ever-growing ‘one who got away’ list.
Let’s all just hope Fullkrug can get fit soon and show everyone what he can bring to West Ham.
Beyond that, though, the Hammers clearly need to find a young striker like an Ekitike or Duran for the future.
The fact Ekitike was signed for £15m, Gyokeres for £17.5m, Alvarez for £14.5m and countless of other examples proves there are deals out there to be done.
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