Lee Hendrie told Sky Sports’ Gillette Soccer Saturday programme today (Saturday February 13th, 14:21) that he was baffled to see West Ham not sign a new striker in January.
In other news…Report: West Ham in race to sign 23-year-old giant once valued at £10m for absolutely nothing
David Moyes chose not to bring a centre-forward to the London Stadium.
That was in spite of the fact that Michail Antonio was the only senior option available to the Scot.
Things have gone from bad to worse since the transfer window closed as well.
Michail Antonio hasn’t looked right for a couple of weeks now. He just seems to be protecting his troublesome hamstrings.
Meanwhile, Andriy Yarmolenko could be set to miss the rest of the season after suffering knee ligament damage on Tuesday night.
West Ham do have Mipo Odubeko of course, but the 18-year-old seems to be a long way off being ready to play regular Premier League football.
Lee Hendrie questions West Ham United’s failure to sign a striker in January
Not bringing in a new centre-forward does seem like a truly crazy move from Moyes.
And Lee Hendrie told Sky Sports today how that decision by the West Ham boss was beyond him:
“I watched them midweek against United in the cup. It just feels like when he’s (Antonio) not playing, they’re not getting the full affect in that West Ham side. I can’t state enough what a huge player he is to that team. You’ve got Yarmolenko who’s having to play up there and for me he’s just not a centre-forward. I said in the week, he barely touched the ball, he doesn’t hold the ball up. When you’ve got someone like Antonio, you can play the ball into him and he will retain it. Why on earth they haven’t brought another centre-forward in is beyond me. Particular because he (Antonio) has struggled with injuries. That’s where they are going to fall short this season.”
Let’s just hope that Antonio remains fit between now and the end of the season. Because if he doesn’t, West Ham could be in real trouble.
David Moyes does have the option of playing Said Benrahma, Jesse Lingard or Jarrod Bowen through the middle.
It’s just frustrating because had the Hammers signed a natural goalscorer in January, the pressure on Antonio’s shoulders would have been eased considerably.
Hopefully Moyes is backed to the maximum in the transfer market in the summer and West Ham atone for their huge January error.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
