West Ham United could move to sign an alternative to Niclas Fullkrug who scored 23 goals in all competitions last season, as manager Julen Lopetegui pressures the Hammers hierarchy with a transfer demand ahead of January.
Lopetegui facing West Ham pressure after poor start
Despite a recent 4-1 win over Ipswich Town, which eased the pressure on Lopetegui somewhat, the Spaniard’s future in east London is back into question following a dismal defeat at the hands of rivals Tottenham last weekend.
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ByConnor Holden
West Ham took the lead against Spurs courtesy of star winger Mohammed Kudus, but Dejan Kulusevski, Yves Bissouma, an Alphonse Areola own-goal and a Son Heung-min effort cancelled out their opener and cast more doubt on Lopetegui amid a lacklustre start to the Premier League campaign.
The result makes it four losses for them already, winning just two of eight games in total, despite technical director Tim Steidten’s near-£120 million investment in new signings during the summer transfer window.
West Ham summer signings
From
Fee (Transfermarkt)
Maximilian Kilman
Wolves
€47.5m
Crysencio Summerville
Leeds United
€29.3m
Niclas Fullkrug
Borussia Dortmund
€27m
Luis Guilherme
Palmeiras
€23m
Mohamadou Kante
Paris FC
Undisclosed
Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Man Utd
€18m
Wes Foderingham
Sheffield United
Free transfer
Guido Rodriguez
Real Betis
Free transfer
Jean-Clair Todibo
Nice
Loan transfer
Carlos Soler
PSG
Loan transfer
West Ham summer departures
To
Fee (Transfermarkt)
Flynn Downes
Southampton
€17.85m
James Ward-Prowse
Nottingham Forest
Loan
Maxwel Cornet
Southampton
Loan
Nayef Aguerd
Real Sociedad
Loan
Kurt Zouma
Al-Shabab
Loan
Said Benrahma
Lyon
€14.4m
Angelo Ogbonna
Watford
Free transfer
Thilo Kehrer
Monaco
€11m
Nathan Trott
FC Copenhagen
€1.5m
Ben Johnson
Ipswich Town
Free transfer
Joseph Anang
St Patrick’s Athletic
Free transfer
It is even believed that West Ham are considering Edin Terzić as a replacement for Lopetegui already, if they do indeed sack the former Real Madrid and Spain head coach.
No decision has been made yet, though, and there is still time for the 58-year-old to turn things around. Lopetegui hasn’t been helped by Fullkrug’s persistent Achilles tendon injury, with the new striker missing their last five league matches after picking up the problem on international duty.
The German scored 16 goals in all competitions for ex-club Borussia Dortmund last term, but Fullkrug is yet to get off the mark for West Ham and has been unable to contribute, leading to their reliance on the ageing Michail Antonio and previously out of favour Danny Ings.
West Ham are targeting a new striker in January as a result, with both Ings and Antonio also out of contract next summer. Greece international Vangelis Pavlidis is a potential target for West Ham, among others, and he isn’t the only Greek on their radar.
West Ham could move for Fotis Ioannidis
According to talkSPORT this week, it is believed West Ham could move for Panathinaikos striker Fotis Ioannidis, as Lopetegui personally puts pressure on the club’s hierarchy to invest in the squad again this coming January.
Fullkrug’s injury woes have apparently prompted West Ham to consider bringing in a new number nine, backing other similar reports, and Ioannidis is a player they were targeting in the summer window as well.
The 24-year-old scored 23 goals in all competitions for his current club last term, with Football Analyst Ben Mattinson also branding the forward a “dangerous” asset in the penalty area.
“Fotis Ioannidis has good instincts in the box as he can improvise a variety of finishes to good accuracy with little time to think,” wrote Mattinson.
“He has good finishing ability off both feet which makes him dangerous in the box as he’s effective on either side.”