As West Ham continue their search for a top striker in the summer, the latest name to be linked to the East London club has come as quite a shock.
Jordan Ayew, Aston Villa’s top scorer with six goals, has been rumoured to make the move to the capital once Villa’s relegation has been confirmed.
When you look at Ayew’s career, there is one thing that stands out and that is that Ayew played for Marseille at the same time as Payet, and so could provide a link which could make Payet become an even better player and provide Ayew with the service to allow him to score 15-20 goals a season.
Another reason this transfer could work is how often West Ham’s strikers get injured. The main culprit of this is Andy Carroll, who only turns up once every few games, plays a blinder and then gets injured again. Enner Valencia is a good striker on his day, but after his injury at the start of the season, he has been hit by the injury curse and played only a limited number of games this season.
Emmanuel Emenike, while coming with a good track record is unlikely to make the loan deal permanent, and finally Diafra Sakho, the best striker at the club, looks like he is being forced out the club after a recent bust up with the manager and claiming he is ‘injured’. So a new young striker will help West Ham to keep fresh legs up front.
A negative aspect of Ayew’s transfer to the Hammers is how he has performed with Aston Villa this season. Yes, he has been one of the best performers in a, let’s face it, poor side but with only six goals in 25 appearances, his record is not the best. Also, his temperament could be questioned as when he played at Upton Park, he only lasted 14 minutes before getting sent off for elbowing Aaron Creswell for no reason at all.
In conclusion, I believe that Ayew could be a good signing for the club, due to his age and if he manages to get the right coaching and keeps his temper under control, although if a bigger name striker becomes available, West Ham should go for them instead.