OPINION
Alan Smith has had his say on what West Ham need to do in the summer transfer window and believes that Manuel Pellegrini already has a number of attacking options.
The Sky Sports pundit questioned whether the Hammers would have to sign a new striker in the summer, but believes that there are already a number of striking options for Pellegrini to pick from ahead of the new season, Andriy Yarmolenko being one of them.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Smith said: “Felipe Anderson did well in his first season and they have Yarmolenko, who missed a lot of the season with injury, and then Manuel Lanzini has just come back too.
“They haven’t been able to call on Andy Carroll much but it looks like he is going, so will they look at a striker? They have got people around that position like Anderson, Yarmolenko and Michail Antonio.”
Arguably, Yarmolenko hasn’t been able to show the Hammers faithful exactly what he can do since his arrival in July 2018, after his season was plagued with injury.
Assuming his recovery goes as planned, and the winger is back and ready for West Ham’s pre-season campaign, then he is definitely something for Hammers fans to be excited about for next season.
Although the 29-year old has only managed to take part in nine games this past season, he still registered two goals and one assist in the Premier League, which should be seen as a sign of things to come for the Ukraine international.
Yarmolenko showed glimpses of his slick dribbling ability and you feel with a consistent run in the team he could terrorise defences in the Premier League.
As is looks increasingly likely that Carroll could be on his way out of the club, Yarmolenko will no doubt move higher up in the pecking order for strikers at the club, and Pellegrini will have to make a decision on which players he puts his faith in ahead of the new season.
Although he has had an unfortunate season through injury problems, the 29-year old should not be forgotten, and Smith has a point saying that West Ham still have him as an attacking option, as many Hammers fans won’t have heard his name on the match-day team sheet for a while.
The winger will be hoping for a more fortunate season next year, and could be the real deal at the London Stadium should he be given the game time.
