Speaking on TalkSport, Tony Cottee admitted that he was disappointed to not see West Ham bring in a new striker over the summer.
The Hammers sprung into life late in the window bringing in five players, none of which were forwards with David Moyes seemingly happy to put his trust in Michail Antonio to lead the line himself, until at least January.
Do West Ham need another striker?
Yes
No
The Jamaican international has been in red hot form in the early stages of this season netting four goals and registering three assists but will miss their match against Manchester United after being sent off last week and that will leave Moyes with a selection dilemma as Antonio is the club’s only recognised and natural centre forward.
Cottee shared his feelings and thoughts on West Ham’s decision to not bring in a new striker (1:12) “The most important thing they’ve got is a fantastic manager, who’s experienced in Europe and knows how to manage a squad of players, that’s the one thing they’ve got in the first place.
“I agree with Phil, he mentioned about the centre forward position, I was disappointed, the only disappointment of the window they didn’t sign a replacement forward for Antonio.
“We know he’s going to have problems because of his explosive pace that he uses in the game. I know he got suspended for the game on Sunday, which is obviously not very good.
“You need cover, you can’t go into a European campaign without a recognised centre forward, because let’s not forget Michail’s a converted centre forward, he’s not an out and out centre forward, so they do need to put that right in the January window.”
TIF Thoughts on Antonio…
It certainly is a risky move by Moyes and the West Ham board to settle for just Antonio in the striker department. Whilst he does score goals, highlighted both this and last season, he also comes with an injury record that saw him miss 13 games last campaign.
It was last January that the conversation of bringing in a new striker really kicked in at the London Stadium when the Hammers shipped off Sebastien Haller, their club-record signing to Ajax and decided to not bring in a new centre forward.
Although it didn’t cost them last season as they managed to qualify for the Europa League, now they have those European games added to their busy domestic schedule, relying on Antonio to play Thursday and Sunday most weeks is a recipe for disaster given his injury record.