It is a position on the pitch West Ham United rarely get right and is a longstanding issue new head coach Graham Potter can ill afford to get wrong.
West Ham are in the market for a forward. Current attacking options Niclas Fullkrug, Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen are all sidelined with injuries. Fullkrug, the £27million summer signing from Borussia Dortmund, will be out for three months having sustained a hamstring injury in the FA Cup loss against Aston Villa.
Antonio is out for the rest of the season with a broken leg following his car crash, though there is optimism that captain Bowen could return ahead of schedule in his recovery from a fractured foot. That means Danny Ings is the only fit and recognised striker among Potter’s options currently.
Understandably, there are a number of forwards on West Ham’s shortlist for the January transfer window. The Athletic has looked at some of the potential options and how they could improve Graham Potter’s side.
The 23-year-old forward was a second-half substitute in Fulham’s 3-2 defeat against West Ham in midweek. Muniz has struggled to dislodge Raul Jimenez, who is Fulham’s leading goalscorer (8) this season, but is a reliable box striker, as we can see from the shotmap below — only Erling Haaland, of Manchester City, (3.9) has averaged more shots inside the penalty area per 90 mins since the start of last season (3.6).
Muniz has a good mix of goals, too. He is not afraid to take a touch and pick his corners, as we saw against Chelsea and Manchester City this season and Tottenham last season. He has a penchant for getting in front of his marker at the near post and is also dangerous in the air, as 36 headed shots demonstrate. An example of his aerial threat is the fine header he scored against Brighton last season.
But given Muniz’s broad skill set, manager Marco Silva wants to retain his services.
“We are not even open to listening to anything about Rodrigo,” Silva said in Thursday’s press conference. “No one has contacted us because it will be a quick and easy answer from ourselves. No chance at all to even start to talk.”
(Clive Rose/Getty Images)
Andre Silva
RB Leipzig forward Silva is on West Ham’s shortlist and a loan deal is being explored. Let’s start with the bad news: this season, the 29-year-old has a paltry return of one goal in 15 appearances in all competitions. Silva has struggled with consistency in his past two seasons, which includes a loan spell at Real Sociedad. In fact, he has registered only four league goals since the start of last season; two penalties and two open-play goals from a combined distance of 7.2 yards.
This chart helps to illustrate how his output peaked in the 2020-21 season but has declined ever since. He underperformed his xG by 5.4 in the 2023-24 season and the amount of game time he has experienced has understandably reduced.
The good news is that West Ham need a clinical forward and Silva has been that sort of figure in the past. All 40 of his Eintracht Frankfurt Bundesliga goals came from inside the penalty area, which is an indication of the sort of finisher he is. His goalscoring return of 29 goals in 2020-21 at Frankfurt shows what he can achieve with an extended run in a team. Although Silva has not reached those heights since, a switch to West Ham and some regular game time could get him back on track. It would certainly be a risk, though.
Summer signing Aaron Wan-Bissaka, formerly of Manchester United, has revived his career at the London Stadium, as did Jesse Lingard in January 2021 with a six-month spell that led to an England recall. Brighton & Hove Albion forward Danny Welbeck had a career resurgence under Potter, too.
“Welbeck wasn’t playing at Watford and has ended up being a good signing with how he has influenced the team as an older player,” said Potter. “Neal Maupay (the ex-Brighton forward) arrived with a point to prove and scored goals for the club. At West Ham, it’s a case of us being open to anything and identifying the right profile and the right person for us.”
Potter helped Danny Welbeck revitalise his career (Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)
The 20-year-old is a player Potter is familiar with. He gave Ferguson his first-team debut in August 2021 while manager of Brighton, but the Irish forward has struggled with game time this season and is behind Welbeck, Joao Pedro, Georginio Rutter and Julio Enciso in the club’s current pecking order.
An ankle injury has also curtailed his development, but a reunion with Potter could be the best outcome for both parties. A loan move would give Ferguson much-needed playing time and allow Brighton to reassess his future in the summer. The Republic of Ireland international is aware of Potter’s demands as a head coach and is familiar with playing in his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation.
(Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)
“I wouldn’t say (signing a striker) is imperative, but with the situation with Mich as well, there is certainly a rationale to do something,” said Potter. “But it’s not quite as simple as that. I wouldn’t want to make the wrong decision or do something for the sake of it because there is a need.”
West Ham need a forward whose offensive attributes include pace and good finishing and Ferguson’s skill set fits the bill. He has struggled to adapt as an impact substitute but would surely get a sustained run in West Ham’s XI.
The Middlesbrough forward is another West Ham target and has a record of 10 league goals in 26 appearances this season. The 26-year-old is an explosive striker and has been viewed as a potential long-term replacement for Antonio, whose contract expires at the end of the season. But MLS side Atlanta United have tabled a £16million offer for the Ivory Coast international, so there are other factors to consider.
West Ham have a good track record at bringing in players from the Championship, including Antonio, Bowen, Aaron Cresswell and Crysencio Summerville. But stalling on targets has seen the club miss out on signing James Maddison, now of Tottenham Hotspur, in 2018 and Eberechi Eze, now of Crystal Palace, in 2020.
“It’s certainly one of the options, for sure, and a good market,” Potter said in his pre-match press conference before the 3-2 win against Fulham. “It’s complicated because to get players from the Championship in January isn’t straightforward. But it’s a market we’d be foolish not to look at.”
Lath’s main attributes are his pace and ability to make runs in behind the opposition defence. Per SkillCorner, only four Championship players have made more runs in behind this season, while the graphic illustrates that most of his movement is done ahead of the ball, with Lath focused primarily on attacking the space in behind and the box.
Since joining Middlesbrough in August 2023, Lath has registered 28 goals across 64 appearances. His goal catalogue is varied, with plenty of instinctive snapshots with either foot plus an aerial threat. He is capable of winning games by himself — as he did with solo goals against Millwall and Sheffield United — and scored a hat-trick in the 6-2 victory over Oxford United in November.
Azaz 🇦
Latte Lath 🎯Run it back. pic.twitter.com/SraclhvCXo
— Middlesbrough FC (@Boro) December 14, 2024
Once again West Ham are in need of a centre-forward — a dilemma they are faced with in just about every transfer window. Potter secured his first win with the club against Fulham thanks to three goals from only four shots, but that sort of return is unsustainable and he will know it. Getting in a reliable finisher could allow West Ham to start looking further up the table in the second half of the season. The only question is: who can they get?
Additional reporting: Thom Harris
(Top photos: Getty Images)
