TalkSport reporter Alex Crook thinks that West Ham United could end up regretting not making a move for Wout Weghorst in the January transfer window.
The Hammers stayed exactly where they were in January, with no senior players coming in or out, which has led to some criticism from some media outlets. You could argue the criticism is warranted given how close the battle for a spot in Europe is set to be between now and the end of the season.
One area that the club have needed to address for some time now has been centre-forward, with the club only having Michail Antonio on the books. They were linked with a whole host of forwards such as Patrik Schick, Ben Brereton Díaz, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Christian Benteke, but obviously, none of those deals ultimately came to pass.
And speaking on the TalkSport GameDay podcast, Crook felt that the club should have made a move for Burnley forward Weghorst instead, noting that if they’d have been in for him, they would have stood a good chance of getting him ahead of the Clarets as Sean Dyche’s side eventually sealed a deal for a fee reported to be £12m.
He said: “They’ve missed a trick when it comes to Wout Weghorst, who I don’t think is the greatest striker in the world, but he caused Brighton all kinds of problems at the weekend, did well against Manchester United as well.
“£12m is not a lot of money for a striker, and you have to guess that if he had a choice between West Ham and Burnley, he would have gone to West Ham.”
TIF Thoughts on Alex Crook’s comments about West Ham United and Wout Weghorst…
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West Ham were reportedly showing some interest in Weghorst ahead of the January window, with noted Hammers insider ExWHUemployee claiming via his Patreon page that the club wanted him, while Calciomercato claimed that interest had stretched back as far as last summer.
And based on his start in the Premier League, they indeed appear to have ‘missed a trick’ as Crook puts it, as the Dutchman has been making his mark in the English top flight.
He has one goal and two assists to his name already as well as averaging 2.3 shots, 1.3 key passes, 2 aerial duels won per game, as well as an overall rating of 7.21, the highest of any Burnley player this season (via WhoScored).
And whilst he may not have been first-choice ahead of Antonio, who has been West Ham’s main source of goals in recent seasons, based on his first few weeks at Turf Moor, Weghorst may well have been able to offer something to the Hammers between now and the end of the season. Let’s just hope they don’t live to regret not making a more serious move for him.
In other news: ‘I know from speaking to him’ – Journalist drops big update on West Ham target