West Ham are growing more and more serious about signing an alternative to Michail Antonio in January, and he's been called a "constant threat".
Hammers set sights on forward signing
The January transfer window represents a real opportunity for David Moyes to shore up a key area of the squad. West Ham's glaring lack of depth in the striker position has really been highlighted by injuries to Jarrod Bowen and Antonio, were are both sidelined after knocks on international duty.
Bowen had been used as a makeshift forward before his absence, while Antonio remains Moyes' preferred number nine option when available.
In a 2-1 win over Burnley at Turf Moor, Moyes was forced to start out-of-favour striker Danny Ings in the absence of Bowen and Antonio, with the Englishman failing to make an impact.
Young striker Divin Mubama came off the bench to play a heavy hand in West Ham clinching a late three points against Burnley, but it's clear these options won't be enough if Moyes wants to make a success of what could be his last season in charge.
Technical director Tim Steidten has prioritised the signing of a striker at West Ham this January as a result, with club insider ExWHUemployee revealing it is his main focus right now.
Tim Steidten’s role at the club has grown in seniority since his arrival,” stated Ex on Patreon (via West Ham Way).
“His knowledge, targets and dealings have really impressed Sullivan, who now fully trusts Tim as his right-hand-man. This will almost certainly mean that Steidten will be leading the search for our next manager in the future. However, its understood his main focus for now is player contracts and January recruitment – with a striker top of the list.”
West Ham "serious" about signing Werner
One name on West Ham's agenda is RB Leipzig forward Timo Werner. The German has been linked with a London Stadium move in recent weeks, and TEAMtalk have an update on the situation.
They claim West Ham's interest in Werner is "serious", and their recruitment staff are ready to thoroughly explore the possibility of a deal should he leave Leipzig. However, one roadblock could be that he'll take some convincing to make a Premier League return, especially given his nightmare stint at London neighbours Chelsea.
Despite not exactly standing out as a prolific marksman since returning to Leipzig, Werner has been called a "constant threat" by members of the media like pundit Kevin Campbell. Commenting on the £200,000-per-week attacker during his time at Chelsea, Campbell told Football Insider:
“Werner is a very good player. The problem is, I think he needs a change. He needs to get out of that spotlight. He needs to go somewhere else.
“It may all turnaround and click for him once he does that. The spotlight at Chelsea might be too much for him. He gets into unbelievable positions. His movement and speed are a constant threat.
“The thing is, he just hasn’t been scoring the goals. His finishing has not taken off at Chelsea.”
