West Ham boss David Moyes will allegedly make a final decision on whether or not to sign Blackburn striker Ben Brereton Diaz during the final week of the January transfer window.
That’s according to the Sunday Express (print edition January 22nd, page 74) who claim that the Hammers sent out scouts to run their eyes over the 22-year-old striker in midweek.
West Ham’s need for a new centre-forward has been well-documented over the last year since we sold Sebastien Haller to Ajax in January 2021.
Read also: £25m striker’s agent insists West Ham have made an official offer for his client
Michail Antonio has been great for the Hammers over the past 18 months, but it is so obvious to see that he is in need of some real competition for his place.
Not only is he clearly fatigued but he has also been playing like someone who knows he will not get dropped.
Signing a striker in January could well be the difference between a top six finish and missing out on the Europa League spots.
West Ham to make Brereton Diaz decision in final week of January window
The Sunday Express reckon that Moyes sent scouts to watch the 22-year-old in action for Blackburn against Hull City on Wednesday night.
The Chile international failed to find the net in that particular game but he has bagged 20 goals in 27 Championship games this season (Transfermarkt).
Brereton Diaz will be in action for Blackburn again on Monday night against Middlesbrough and next Saturday against Luton. The West Ham scouts will undoubtedly be watching him closely once again.
The 22-year-old is a hard working striker and standing at 6ft 1in tall, he’s big and strong as well.
However, TEAMtalk reckon Blackburn will demand £30 million for the centre-forward this month. That seems like an awful lot of money to be paying out for someone who has no Premier League pedigree.
Before this season, the Chile international had scored just 20 goals in 146 games for both Nottingham Forest and Blackburn (Transfermarket).
Moyes has a big decision to make during the final eight days of the transfer window. One would suspect that the Scot won’t be paying £30 million for Brereton Diaz though, regardless of how much he impresses during Blackburn’s next two games.
That shouldn’t detract from Moyes’s need to sign a centre-forward though. If Diaz isn’t the man for the job, he needs to move on in search of someone else, and fast.
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