West Ham United striker Albian Ajeti could be set to leave the club just months after signing for the Londoners from Swiss club FC Basel in August. Turkish media outlet Sporx are reporting that Besiktas are interested in bringing the forward to Istanbul in January.
It’s fair to say the 22-year-old hasn’t had the desired impact at the London Stadium so far and it appears the clubs faith in Ajeti will be tested by Abdullah Avci’s side.
Given Marko Arnautovic, Javier Hernandez and Andy Carroll all left the club during the summer, there are those who believe the Ajeti signing was simply a panic buy – especially given they shelled out an alleged £7.83m just a matter of months ago. The Switzerland international is yet to start a Premier League game for Manuel Pellegrini’s side and is yet to open his West Ham account.
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The club’s lack of strength-in-depth in the striker position is likely to be an issue as far as allowing Ajeti to leave is concerned. His lack of game-time suggests that Pellegrini hasn’t been particularly enthused by what he has seen in training but if Sebastien Haller was to suffer an injury it would leave the team extremely short of options.
For West Ham to consider a sale, they would need to receive a significant offer and have identified a potential replacement. If the Hammers can identify a player they believe to be a more suitable deputy to Haller, then they could be open to letting the 22-year-old leave the London Stadium this winter.
Last season, Ajeti managed 21 goals in 43 appearances for FC Basel but the Premier League is a far tougher competition and the young forward was always going to need time to adapt, although whether he is given the chance under Pellegrini to do so remains to be seen.