West Ham have responded to a major claim from talkSPORT about their move to sign giant striker Promise David in the January window.
The Hammers are looking to get at least one new striker signed as early as possible in January.
The winter transfer window opens in less than three weeks and it coincides with West Ham’s kindest and – on paper at least – most winnable run of fixtures of the entire season.
Nuno Espirito Santo told West Ham’s board he needs a new striker within a week of arriving at the club.
Nuno took one look at Niclas Fullkrug up front against Everton and had seen enough.
West Ham hunt Fullkrug replacement
The immobile, injury-prone German wants out and West Ham want him out, with a notable dip in his effort and application when making cameo appearances of late.
A move to Germany and Italy, likely a loan with an option or obligation to buy included, beckons for Fullkrug.
Why do you think Niclas Fullkrug failed?
That will leave West Ham with Callum Wilson as their only senior striker option.
Wilson has been great value so far after arriving on a free transfer in the summer. But he too is ageing, turning 34 in the new year, and has been seriously injury-prone in the past.
That makes it imperative the Hammers get a forward in given their Premier League lives are at stake.
A host of forwards have been linked with moves to the London Stadium.
One in particular has been persistently reported as a genuine Hammers target in the shape of Promise David.
It was claimed last week that West Ham are closing on an agreement to sign David next month.
The muscle-bound 6ft 5in 24-year-old striker has scored 62 goals in the last three-and-a-bit seasons at Belgian side Royale Union Saint-Gilloise and in Estonia prior.
A top Sky Sports reporter confirmed West Ham’s interest in David this week.
But it was made clear he is one of many options being considered.
In fact a brand new striker name is in the frame for West Ham after a major update overnight.
West Ham fans voted overwhelmingly for Ivan Toney as their preferred striker signing in January.
West Ham coy on talkSPORT claim about David move
But there has been excitement among supporters at the prospect of bringing in the powerful David and what he could do to transform Nuno’s side.
And West Ham are coy on a major talkSPORT claim about a move to sign giant striker David.
The radio station’s transfer reporter Alex Crook reckons David has turned the Hammers down, saying he does not want to swap playing in the Champions League with Union Saint-Gilloise for a relegation battle.
David, nicknamed ‘Baby Lukaku’ due to the similarities in his game to Belgian striker Romelu, ‘would be reluctant to swap playing in the Champions League for a Premier League relegation battle’ according to Crook.
“That means it is likely to be back to the drawing board for the Hammers, who have promised manager Nuno Espirito Santo reinforcements in a number of positions,” Crook said on talkSPORT.
Hammers News put Crook’s claim to the top spokesman for West Ham’s owners.
Do you think Promise David would be a good signing?
On the face of it, the claim is rather laughable.
Union Saint-Gilloise have two group games left in the Champions League in the next week or so and as things stand look almost certain to be exiting the competition.
So David won’t even have Champions League football come January, when West Ham are pushing to sign him.
West Ham are refusing to give much away after the claim about David was put to them.
If West Ham were not interested in David, the board’s top spokesman would deny it flat out.
However, the Hammers are staying tight-lipped and offering no confirmation either way, which actually suggests the club is very much in for David as the January window draws closer.
“Sorry we never comment on players we may, or may not, have looked at,” the top spokesman for West Ham’s owners told Hammers News when asked directly about claims David has turned the club down.
Would Promise David be a good fit for West Ham?
If West Ham were to sign David, one thing they can be sure of is they’d be getting a physically imposing centre-forward with a growing goal record in the Belgium league.
David combines his size with a keen eye for goal but it is his imposing frame and aerial ability that would give West Ham a completely different attacking dimension compared with the club’s current forwards.
Under Nuno’s guidance, he could act as a hard-to-mark focal point to relieve pressure on West Ham’s smaller, quicker attackers like Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville.
Bowen thrives when he has runners ahead of him — someone like David occupying centre-backs and winning balls in advanced areas would create space for the captain’s clever movement and direct runs into the box.
Similarly, Summerville’s pace and directness on the other side could be better utilised with a physical target man like David holding the ball up effectively, allowing the winger to exploit wide and half-space channels.
Wilson has performed admirably. But having a robust striker who can win aerial duels, win flick-ons or pull defenders wide can help Nuno’s system become more varied tactically, with West Ham too predictable and easy to defend against at times.
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