Football journalist Fabrizio Romano has been speaking on his Here We Go podcast to discuss West Ham United’s interest in striker Hugo Ekitike.
The Hammers go into the January transfer window with just one senior striker at disposal for David Moyes in the form of 31-year-old Michail Antonio.
Would Ekitike be a good addition to the squad?
Yes
No
And Romano believes the east Londoners are now showing an interest in the 19-year-old Reims striker, who is reportedly attracting a lot of interest from the Premier League.
Newcastle United are another club to be heavily linked as potential suitors for the youngster, who has only made a handful of appearances in the French top flight.
With the Hammers yet to get off the mark in the January transfer window, Romano had the following to say on West Ham’s interest in the young striker:
“He’s already scored eight goals in Ligue 1, but he’s doing really incredible, really talented boy. Newcastle have an interest in this boy, they made the formal proposal, but Reims are not accepting.
“It seems they’re asking around £30m for Ekitike. Also, West Ham are interested, many clubs are keeping tabs on him. So remember this name, because he’s a really interesting one.”
TIF Thoughts on Ekitike to West Ham United…
We think the Hammers should be desperate to bring in a new striker in the summer given the number of games they will have coming up with the FA Cup, Europa League and Premier League all to compete in.
Antonio has a concerningly long injury record which should force the club’s hand into providing Moyes with an alternative to provide some support for the Jamaica international.
Yet, we are not fully convinced Ekitike is the man for the job given his lack of experience, which would surely prove tricky for Moyes to put his trust in the 19-year-old straight away.
Ekitike has just half a season of French top-flight experience under his belt, which begs the question of whether Moyes would be able to bring him off the bench or start him instead of Antonio with confidence.
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