West Ham United boss David Moyes has received a timely boost with the news young hotshot striker Mipo Odubeko is back in training.
Shock as West Ham star is ruled out for the foreseeable future and Moyes didn’t mention it
West Ham fans were concerned when the club went into the season with just two strikers.
Michail Antonio is injury prone and the move to West Ham just has not worked out so far for Sebastien Haller.
A move for Josh King in the summer window came to nothing.
Striker light – West Ham’s lack of depth up front exposed
And that lack of depth up front is already coming back to haunt the Hammers.
Antonio has missed nearly two months of the season already and is out until at least the Chelsea game.
Moyes has proved he is not afraid to throw West Ham’s young academy players into first team action when needed.
And fans were getting excited at the prospect of seeing former Manchester United striker Mipo Odubeko called up until he too was injured back in September.
The quick and deadly forward was in top form for West Ham’s development side at the start of the season.
West Ham beat a host of clubs to Odubeko’s signature when he refused to sign a new deal at Manchester United last year (whufc.com).
Red hot young forward Odubeko returns from injury to give Moyes a new option
And it is easy to see why so many clubs wanted the prolific goalscorer when he was twice on the scoresheet – and for the fourth time in two games – as West Ham’s Under 23s beat Southend 3-1 in the EFL Trophy last month.
There was something more to his performance than just goals, though. For many it felt like a watershed moment for the youngster.
Indeed one of his goals won West Ham’s September goal of the month award.
Many West Ham fans remarked they have not seen the kind of deadly finishing power and prowess displayed by Odubeko since a certain Jermain Defoe was emerging from the West Ham ranks.
Moyes received good news this week after insider ExWHUemployee revealed Odubeko has returned to training.
“Mipo Odubeko is the young forward that we signed from Manchester United a year ago now,” ExWHUemployee explained on The West Ham Way podcast (December 9th).
‘It won’t be long before he is considered ready for the first team’ – insider
“Quite a highly rated young forward, I think he’s got a lot of potential in the game. He’s got a good couple of feet, pacy, he’s aggressive, I think he’s going to be able to make a name for himself.
“He is now back in training and actually playing games in training so it won’t be long before he is considered ready for the first team.”
The Republic of Ireland Under 21 star received a hugely positive reaction from West Ham fans when he posted a picture of himself wearing a retro Hammers shirt on his birthday alongside a comeback message.
It has been a long road back from injury but it appears Odubeko is fit and available if needed by Moyes.
And it certainly gives the Scot a new and genuine striker option rather than resorting to playing the likes of Andriy Yarmolenko and Said Benrahma out of position.
Watch this space and remember the name.
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