West Ham United’s failure to sign a striker in the summer remains a sore subject among some fans.
Michail Antonio is West Ham’s only proper striker option.
And he makes David Moyes’s side tick.
West Ham’s lack of striker options has been a real area of concern for fans.
Particularly given Antonio’s injury record in previous seasons.
Those worries have been eased somewhat by Jarrod Bowen’s brilliant performances when filling in for Antonio this term. But Bowen’s finishing has not been up to the standards needed thus far.
Moyes recently admitted that his six month search for a striker to stand in for Antonio at West Ham proved fruitless in the summer (Independent).
One player he was heavily linked with was Brentford’s Ivan Toney.
So ahead of Sunday’s clash between West Ham and the Bees, David Moyes was asked about his interest in the forward.
And while Moyes admitted he had been interested in Toney, he insisted he did not miss out on the forward in the summer window, because he didn’t make a move for him.
“We scouted him a lot at Peterborough,” Moyes told the press before West Ham’s game against Brentford (Football London).
“Sometimes you find something, sometimes you don’t. He was certainly one in the do we, don’t we category when he was at Peterborough…
“Any talk about we were going to do something in the summer, that was wrong.
“Toney has done really really well since he’s come into the Premier League. But again, we shouldn’t be surprised because he was successful and did a really good job in the Championship.”
The big worry for West Ham will be if and when Antonio can’t play.
The Hammers have proved they are capable of winning without their powerful forward.
But he is the focal point for Moyes and the team and – as he proved at Leeds last weekend, he is so often the match-winner for West Ham.
Moyes may elect to sign a young up and coming striker to act as back-up to Antonio.
West Ham have been linked with a January Clermont Foot striker Mohamed Bayo.
Finding a suitable forward will undoubtedly be new head of recruitment Rob Newman’s top priority.
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