West Ham United made a mistake when they sold Mohammed Kudus to Tottenham Hotspur and did not effectively replace him.
Now, the Hammers have been swallowed into the Premier League relegation zone, scraping together form under Nuno Espirito Santo’s management and trying to return to safety.
It is unfair to pin the Hammers’ fall down to someone as specific as Kudus’ sale last summer, but it’s certainly one piece of the problem, with another being the recent loss of Lucas Paqueta, who has returned to Flamengo in Brazil for a £35.5m fee.
West Ham need a new talismanic force, someone to rival Jarrod Bowen.
West Ham in late bid for Premier League forward
West Ham are hoping to make several signings before Monday’s transfer deadline, having on Friday seen a bid for Southampton defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis knocked back.
West Ham need a centre-back to help shore up their defensive problems, but they also need more in attack, more incisiveness in the final third and more dynamism in the build-up, especially now that Paqueta has moved to Brazil.
According to Football Insider, West Ham are among the many clubs to have entered the race for Raheem Sterling, who is a free agent after his £325k-per-week contract at Chelsea was torn up this month.
Numerous Champions League-level clubs across Europe have been in contact with the English winger’s representatives, but Sterling may be enticed by the prospect of remaining in London and performing for a West Ham side who would hand him a leading role in attack.
However, Crystal Palace and Fulham are also keen on signing the 31-year-old.
What Sterling would bring to West Ham
Sterling is not the fleet-footed force that he once was, but he’s still among the most talented attackers in the Premier League, with pundit Jamie Carragher even going as far as to say that he’s “one of the best players of his generation” and “Pep’s best winger at Man City”.
This is true. Revisionism is easy when a player has struggled for form for some time, but Sterling was once a feared and deadly force at Manchester City, scorer of so many goals.
Raheem Sterling’s Career by Club
Season
Apps
Goals + Assists
Man City
339
131 + 86
Liverpool
129
23 + 18
Chelsea
81
19 + 15
Arsenal
28
1 + 5
Data via Transfermarkt
Sure, he didn’t click on loan at Arsenal last season, and his stint to Chelsea left much to be desired, but Sterling might thrive at a club who need his qualities, maybe taking a leaf from former teammate Jack Grealish’s book there.
There’s still a top player in there, someone with the directness and killer instinct in the final third to fill the void that has been left by Kudus’ departure last summer.
Sterling, after all, still posted eight goals and four assists from only 21 Premier League starts in 2023/24, at Chelsea, his last year of consistent top-flight football. Moreover, he created seven big chances and completed an average of 1.5 dribbles per game.
He’s a veteran now, someone who has played more football than most. Sterling will not bring the same fleet-footed energy that Kudus added. But there’s a maturity to his football that Hammers know can be applied effectively, with Bowen a testament to conservative, clinical attacking play.
A two-sided winger with a proven track record of scoring goals and providing assists in the Premier League, Sterling could be the winger West Ham need to swing the odds and leap from the relegation zone, returning to form once again.
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