Once again, speculation over centre-forwards is dominating the conversation over West Ham United’s summer plans following another underwhelming Premier League campaign at the London Stadium.
Injuries have limited Niclas Fullkrug to only five starts. Danny Ings will surely be packing his bags in the weeks to come. As for whether Michail Antonio ever features in a West Ham United shirt again, only time will tell.
Fortunately, talented number nines appear fairly plentiful heading into the summer.
West Ham may not be able to attract or afford the finest centre-forwards in the European game, but there are many rising stars who may be worthy of a punt.
The almost Alexander Isak-like Emanuel Emagha has dragged Strasbourg into Champions League contention across the Channel. Speculation in Germany suggests that Mainz hitman Jonathan Burkhardt may have a £17 million release clause in his contract.
Long-standing West Ham target Yuri Alberto has scored the most goals of any Brazilian player in the world’s ‘top 20’ ranked leagues since the beginning of 2024.
That includes Barcelona superstar Raphinha and Real Madrid wizard Vinicius Jr.
And, according to Ukrainian reporter Viktor Vatsko, Dynamo Kiev may be tempted to part with Vladyslav Vanat while accepting the sort of fee West Ham should have relatively few issues gathering together.
West Ham United eye Ukraine striker Vladyslav Vanat
TBR Football reports that West Ham have watched Vladyslav Vanat this term.
The Golden Boot winner in last season’s Ukrainian Premier League, Vanat is on track for a second successive top scorer crown.
Also on the radars of Brentford, Fulham and newly-promoted Leeds United, the Ukraine international hot-shot has 21 goals across all competitions this term. Seventeen of those have come in league action.
Now, the success of Ukraine’s more high-profile exports is something of a mixed bag. For every Mykhaylo Mudryk, an Artem Dovbyk.
The former has been a disaster at Chelsea. The latter, however, topped the La Liga goalscoring charts with Girona before moving on to Roma.
And Vanat, who succeeded Dovbyk in seizing Ukraine’s Golden Boot back in 2024, is likely to be in the next cab off the rank.
“The most promising in terms of potential sale, in my opinion, is Vanat,” explains Vasko. “He is 23 years old, a player in the national team, and the top scorer in the Ukrainian championship for two seasons in a row.
“This will also be taken into account. And I am sure that there is interest in him.”
Hammers could land Dynamo Kyiv star with £17 million bid
Labelled the second coming of Andriy Shevchenko by some, Vanat is an instinctive, somewhat old-school penalty box poacher. He is equally comfortable finishing off chances with either foot, while also netting a rare header during Dynamo Kyiv’s recent 2-2 draw with title rivals Shakhtar Donetsk.
Vatsko believes that an initial bid of £17 million may be enough to twist Dynamo’s arm.
“I think that a price of about 20 million euros with a 20 or 30 per cent [sell-on clause] for the next sale will be a good option for Dynamo Kyiv,” Vasko adds. “And this is what clubs from the top five European championships will be able to afford.
“Whether Dynamo will be satisfied with this conditional 20 million euro [sale] is the most interesting question in this context.”
One suspects Vanat will have been twisting the ear of former West Ham forward Andriy Yarmolenko as Graham Potter’s side firm up their striker shortlist.
Yarmolenko should become Dynamo Kyiv’s all-time record goalscorer in the Ukrainian Premier League before long.
The chances of Vanat joining the veteran winger in the 100-goal club, right now, look decidedly slim with a move to one of Europe’s major leagues on the cards.
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