Speaking recently on the U Irons podcast, Roshane Thomas discussed West Ham United’s failure to sign a striker in the January transfer window.
Following the sale of Sebastien Haller to Ajax in what was a £20.25 million deal towards the beginning of January, David Moyes was left with only Michail Antonio as an out-and-out centre-forward in his first-team squad.
As a result, the Hammers were linked with a number of attacking options over the course of the winter window, however, ultimately, the club failed to bring in a striker to provide cover for Antonio – who has already suffered a number of injuries so far this season.
And, speaking on a recent episode of the U Irons podcast, Thomas claimed that West Ham’s failure in landing an attacking target was irresponsible on the part of the club.
He said: “My thoughts are that it’s very irresponsible of West Ham not to bring in a striker. I know there’s been bids for different players and they haven’t been able to bring someone in – but even if it was someone like a Glenn Murray or Charlie Austin or a Troy Deeney, just someone for the short term to provide cover for Michail Antonio, I would have been happy with that. Yes, I know they’re names that fans won’t be excited about, but just so you have that safety net that if the worst-case scenario does happen to Antonio, we have someone who can come in.
“West Ham didn’t have to break the bank to bring someone in, just to have someone in as a safety net – that’s all I was asking for. We see Everton signing Josh King, Fulham signing Josh Maja on loan – both players linked with a move to West Ham.
“Imagine how disheartening that was for fans on deadline day – constantly refreshing their Twitter feed, saying, ‘What’s happening, what’s happening?’ and being told, ‘West Ham are not signing anyone.’ So, I hope it doesn’t come back to haunt us, but I reckon it’s so irresponsible of West Ham not to bring a striker in.”
Should West Ham have signed a striker?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts on Roshane Thomas’ comments regarding West Ham’s failure to bring in a striker…
While David Moyes has come out since the closure of the window stating that West Ham ‘were looking’ for a centre-forward and that the club ‘had money to spend’, but that he was not going to ‘go down the same path as before’ and sign a player just to ‘appease people’ – it would appear as if the 57-year-old actively chose not to bring in a centre-forward last month, as he could not find a player available who fit the bill.
However, in our opinion, this pickiness could indeed come back to haunt West Ham, as Thomas suggests, as a short-term deal for a player like Joshua King – whom Everton signed on a six-month contract – would have solved the problem of not having suitable cover for Antonio for the remainder of the season, while also meaning that the player would not be tied to the club for a number of years.