West Ham make official £34m bid for 23-year-old ahead of the January window

Lopetegui’s job was said to be on the line before the win over Newcastle on Monday night, but he has definitely bought himself some time now.

I feel like the Spaniard will be in charge at the London Stadium come January, unless we embark on a run of three or four defeats in a row between now and then.

If he still is at the helm come January, he will need to make one or two top-class signings.

And it seems like the Hammers have already laid the groundwork regarding one potential new arrival.

West Ham make £34m bid for 23-yo for ahead of January window

One position where we really need to strengthen is the centre-forward department.

Niclas Fullkrug clearly isn’t suited to the intensity of Premier League football and he’s still out injury regardless.

West Ham cannot continue to rely on 34-year-old Michail Antonio to lead the line for us, as good as he undoubtedly was on Monday night against Newcastle.

And it seems like the Hammers have someone very specific in mind for the job.

RTI Esporte claim that West Ham have made a £30 million bid plus £4 million in potential add-ons for Brazilian striker Igor Jesus.

We were actually linked with the South American forward earlier this month.

The 23-year-old has racked up a fairly average eight goals and four assists in 27 games for Botafogo, since joining them back in July as a free agent (Transfermarkt).

He was a real hit out in the UAE with Shabab Al-Ahli Club, scoring 43 goals and providing 20 assists in 87 matches.

However, his record in his home country of Brazil is poor. He began his career with Coritiba Foot Ball Club, and scored five goals in 49 games for them.

He is completely unproven in the Premier League, or anywhere in Europe for that matter.

I just don’t see why Steidten, Lopetegui and Sullivan would think that signing Igor Jesus for £34 million would represent good value for West Ham.

I would much prefer us to make a move for Jonathan David or even Jhon Duran again.