OPINION
West Ham must consider bringing Manchester City forward Nolito to the London Stadium in the summer.
The 30-year-old Spain international joined Manchester City from La Liga club Celta Vigo at the beginning of the 2016-17 campaign but has failed to impress new boss Pep Guardiola.
Nolito recently spoke to Spanish outlet Marca and expressed his desire to leave the Etihad in the upcoming transfer window and he even claimed that his former club are interested in signing him.
The Spaniard has only made nine Premier League starts this season but he has still managed to score four goals in the process.
Here, This is Futbol reveals the three reasons why the Hammers must do everything to land the Spanish forward this summer:
An eye for goal
During his three year spell playing for Galician side Celta Vigo, Nolito became an attacking threat for the La Liga side as he scored 10 league goals or more for three consecutive seasons.
The forward has also shown that he can perform on the international stage as he has scored six goals in just 16 appearances with the Spanish national team.
The Hammers struggled to find the back of the net throughout the entire Premier League season as not a single West Ham player made it into double figures, with Michail Antonio finishing the campaign as the club’s top goalscorer with nine goals.
Nolito is a player who tends to get on the scoresheet when he is given a run in the side and his goals could help West Ham improve on their 11th place finish.
Versatility
The Spaniard is not an out-and-out striker so he would be able to provide the Hammers with more versatility up front.
During his final season with Celta Vigo, Nolito found himself out on the left-hand side on numerous occasions as it allowed him to cut inside on his favoured right-foot and score goals at will.
Nolito struck up a fantastic partnership with former Liverpool man Iago Aspas at Celta where both players would interchange positions and create havoc for the opposition.
The Spaniard would be able to link up with current West Ham players such as Manuel Lanzini and help the Hammers become a more attacking threat in the final third.
Andy Carroll injuries
It appears that West Ham boss Slaven Bilic cannot rely on the fitness of striker Andy Carroll.
The 28-year-old man mountain has only started 40 Premier League matches for the Hammers over the past three seasons as he has been struggling with injuries.
When fully-fit, Carroll is still one of the best target-men in the league but the issue is that he has not played more than 30 Premier League matches in a single season since the 2011-12 campaign with Liverpool.
Nolito could potentially form a great little-and-large partnership with Carroll at the East London club which could help the Hammers challenge for a place in Europe next season.