West Ham United are on the verge of signing a striker but have somehow made themselves a transfer window laughing stock.
West Ham’s search for a new striker in the January transfer window is nearing an end.
With months to prepare for this moment and three weeks into the actual window, the Hammers are close to sealing a deal for a loan signing after talks advanced on Thursday.
The move has accelerated since West Ham’s audacious bids for Aston Villa’s Jhon Duran were rebuffed.
David Sullivan has been back in charge of West Ham’s transfer dealings.
And he courted criticism from fans of both the Hammers and Villa as well as pundits for the Duran bids.
Two weeks ago, West Ham offered £40m for the Colombian they missed out on in the summer.
The Irons then went back in with what was reported as a £57m bid this week.
From £57m Duran to reject bin man
Both were rejected by Villa, who want nearer £80m.
Pundit Simon Jordan claimed West Ham’s bid for Duran was fake and labelled Sullivan ‘insidious’.
Many Hammers fans felt the same, believing it was a ploy to make the club appear ambitious.
West Ham confirmed they did indeed make the offers but said it was time to ‘accept defeat and move on’ from Duran.
Well move on they have.
Clearly if West Ham were willing to spend £57m on the 21-year-old striker then Graham Potter has some serious cash to spend this month.
But this is the weird and wonderful world of West Ham.
And the Hammers are have now gone from £57m Duran to a nomadic, injury-prone, journeyman who has scored just five goals in the last season and a half.
Bear with us West Ham fans because it gets even worse.
West Ham a laughing stock as goal-shy striker nears move
West Ham are a laughing stock as a goal-shy striker nears a move despite the club having a better plan B.
Portuguese forward Andre Silva has been one of a host of uninspiring strikers linked with the Hammers in the last week.
It was claimed earlier this week that RB Leipzig outcast Silva is one of several alternatives being considered by West Ham.
In terms of profile, you could not get two more opposite ends of the scale than Duran and Silva.
At nearly 30, Silva has a distinct lack of pace and strength and is known for very much being a box striker who offers little else to the team.
The problem is Silva doesn’t even offer goals to make up for it.
He has just five goals in 41 games over the last two seasons, with only one to his name this term.
West Ham fans will understandably be furious then that Silva is close to joining the club on a six-month loan deal with an option to buy.
That’s according to Sky Sports Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg.
Somehow, the situation gets worse still, though.
Nonsensical West Ham have better plan B lined up
Because the man West Ham have as a back-up plan is an infinitely better and more exciting striker – 22-year-old Brian Brobbey of Ajax.
Plettenberg says the Hammers are now pushing to sign RB Leipzig striker Silva on a six-month loan after ‘new talks today’.
He states a decisive round of negotiations has been scheduled for Friday. The big hope for Hammers fans is that Bundesliga clubs save West Ham from themselves with rival interest in Silva.
Incredibly, Plettenberg has revealed that Brobbey is an option West Ham are also considering if they don’t go through with Silva.
The German reporter says there will be a ‘decision soon’.
Only West Ham could go from £57m Duran only to settle on a player like Silva on loan ahead of a much more logical target such as Brobbey.
If you think Danny Ings has struggled to fit in at West Ham, wait until fans see Silva.
Should the move go ahead, this is another underwhelming signing from the Hammers which smacks of the early days at the London Stadium marred by arrivals such as Alvaro Arbeloa, Simeone Zaza, Gokhan Tore, Havard Nordtveit and Jonthan Callieri.
Is it any wonder there is so much apathy among the fanbase.
West Ham have signed 53 strikers in the last 15 years – most of them flops.
Silva looks every inch the latter as striker signing number 54.
Not just because he looks ill-suited to English football or West Ham’s system.
But because Silva has missed 530 days of football in the last two seasons with calf problems.
And guess what West Ham fans? He’s currently out injured, with calf problems.
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