West Ham are facing a striker crisis and it is not lost on the owners that the club simply shouldn’t be in this situation.
West Ham’s hierarchy have this weekend bemoaned the club’s back luck with injuries.
There is no hiding the fact it is extremely unfortunate to lose Michail Antonio, Jarrod Bowen and Niclas Fullkrug within a few weeks of one another.
But there was a reason West Ham’s fans implored the club to sign TWO forwards in the summer.
West Ham’s over-reliance on Antonio in recent years has been nothing short of ridiculous.
As great a player as Antonio has been for the Hammers, a Premier League club with designs of qualifying for Europe should not be so dependent on a converted winger who is nearly 35.
West Ham find themselves just grateful the fan favourite is still alive after breaking his thigh bone in that awful car crash.
It has shone a light on the lack of depth at the club since.
Bowen can fill in at front but with mixed results.
So his injury, while frustrating, should not be used as an excuse either.
Major two-way striker update from West Ham
Fullkrug went off at Villa with that hamstring injury.
That is disappointing for West Ham and the German.
But again, Irons fans had questioned the wisdom of signing a near 32-year-old striker with a long history of serious injuries.
After spending £155m in the summer it is simply unacceptable that three injuries leave West Ham in this position.
Yesterday, West Ham admitted they are ‘sadly not’ close to signing a striker in the wake of the Fullkrug injury.
The club also confirmed the Germany striker’s injury looked serious as he was sent for a scan.
That’s worrying with two massive winnable home games coming up this week against Fulham and Crystal Palace.
Now there’s been a major two-way striker update from West Ham as Tim Steidten’s fate is surely sealed.
For some bizarre reason, West Ham rarely share injury news with fans via official channels.
They are the only club to keep injury news such a closely guarded secret.
But it shows the seriousness of Fullkrug’s latest injury that they have officially confirmed he faces a long spell on the sidelines.
“West Ham United can confirm striker Niclas Fullkrug sustained a hamstring injury in Friday’s FA Cup third round tie against Aston Villa,” West Ham said in a statement.
“The German striker will be sidelined for a number of weeks.”
Steidten’s fate surely sealed as Sullivan leads striker chase
Hammers News understands that is likely to be more like two to three months.
A football season lasts nine months. That will mean Fullkrug will end up missing two thirds of his first season with the Hammers.
But can it really put down to bad luck when Fullkrug’s injury history is there for anyone with an internet connection to see.
Let alone a highly paid technical director who pledged to rebuild West Ham around young, exciting players.
As the club’s only summer striker signing, this piles pressure on Steidten.
David Sullivan has already sidelined Steidten from West Ham’s January transfer window business.
It was revealed this week Steidten is already 50 per cent gone at West Ham and is unlikely to be here in June.
The second big news out of West Ham on Sunday will give fans a bit more hope, though.
West Ham have confirmed they are now “working flat out” with new boss Graham Potter to sign a striker as soon as possible.
“Sadly Fullkrug is out for a long period now, we are desperate for a striker,” a West Ham spokesman told Hammers News.
“We’re working flat out to sign one as soon as possible.”
In order to be available for Tuesday night’s game against Fulham, any new forward would need to be registered by midday on Monday.
Encouragingly the new man at the Hammers helm believes he has a solution.
Potter has dropped a clear hint he has the answer to West Ham’s striker crisis.
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