Emiliano Sala linked with West Ham move – is he worth the £15m gamble?

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West Ham are among a number of clubs being linked with prolific striker Emiliano Sala.

According to the print edition of The Daily Star on Sunday, Crystal Palace are chasing £15m-rated Sala but face competition from West Ham, Wolves and Everton.

The 6ft 2in striker is a target man and his impressive exploits in front of goal have caught the attention of the Premier League ahead of the January transfer window.

But £15m for a 28-year-old is always going to be a risk. Is it worth the gamble for Pellegrini?

West Ham’s striker situation

West Ham’s main striker is Marko Arnautovic; the talisman and leading scorer in East London.

However, there are question marks over the future of the 29-year-old Austrian and his ongoing knee injury is a concern too.

Javier Hernandez is a decent back-up but he has flitted in and out of form and doesn’t seem content to play second fiddle to Arnautovic.

Andy Carroll is like-for-like with Sala but his injury record suggests that West Ham may not extend his contract when it expires next summer.

Who is Emiliano Sala?

Sala has shocked everyone by shooting towards the top of the Ligue 1 goal scoring list this season.

Thriving in a centre-forward role at Nantes, the Argentine forward has scored 11 goals in 10 starts – a tally which can only be matched by Kylian Mbappe in the French top tier this season.

Moreover, Sala has scored two goals in two matches in the French domestic cup. But prior to this season, Sala’s goal scoring record has not been quite as impressive.

He has had spells with Bordeaux, Orleans, Niort and Caen before his 2015 switch to Nantes.

His previous best tally in Ligue 1 was 12 goals – in his previous two seasons for Nantes. Sala already looks set to overtake that haul in this campaign.

The verdict

Manuel Pellegrini will definitely be considering a new striker in January.

But perhaps Sala would be too risky. Although he is scoring freely at the moment, his performances in previous seasons suggest that this may be a one-off purple patch of form.

At 28, there is very little sell-on value and £15m is a steep price for a striker who had only reached double figures twice before this season.

With so many other options out there, Pellegrini should avoid taking a gamble this time and opt for a safer option.