With Callum Wilson able to play just 20 minutes yesterday, West Ham’s urgent need for a young fit striker has never been more evident. When Wilson did appear his first touches lead to an assist for Jarrod Brown through some excellent hold – up play: How badly the Hammers have missed a decent number nine is only too evident from Wilson’s successes this season.
Niclas Fullkrug won’t cut the mustard and it seems Nuno has already decided to consign him to the January sales list, which will be a relief to all except perhaps David Sullivan who’ll be looking at the wrong end of a £10 million plus loss on the German.
All of which leaves West Ham in desperate need of an acquisition next month. As per Claret and Hugh’s article in November, the club had dispatched scouts to run the rule over Norwich City’s Championship striker Josh Sarjent whilst the American forward was in the middle of his 14 game goal drought.
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USMNT striker back in form and on target again
Like all winning or losing streaks, every glut or drought comes to an end eventually and Sargent finally got back on the scoresheet at the weekend with a fine headed goal for Norwich City.
Not enough to stop his side losing 3-2 to Watford but now that the drought is over, hopefully just in time for January he’ll be on target every week.
As an alternative to costly overseas strikers who take six month to get up to speed with the frenetic pace of English football, a Championship striker can hit the ground running but presents a different gamble to Premier League bosses: Can they cut it in the top tier? The gulf is enormous.
Whether Sargent has improved and now has the quality to succeed in the Premier League compared with his last stint – that’s a matter for Nuno and the scouts. After all, nobody wants another Jordan Hugill.