A transfer rumour worth pursuing for West Ham?

There have been a few media reports over the last week or so linking the Hammers with a January swoop for the former Manchester City striker Felipe Caicedo, who currently plays for Lokomotiv Moscow.

There have been enough stories to make me think there is something to it, with claims he is unhappy in Russia and wants out. It has been well documented that we need a good striker as cover for the injury prone Andy Carroll, who we clearly cannot rely upon to be fit all the time. So would Caicedo be a good option, and is he better than what we currently have in that position (aside from Carroll)?

In all honesty I only have vague memories of Caicedo playing in England, and he wasn’t really a hit. In the year and a half he played in the Premier League for Manchester City, he only managed 5 goals in 27 appearances, although admittedly many of these were as a substitute. His overall record for the various clubs he has played for in Europe isn’t much better, with 44 goals in 175 appearances, which is an average of about 1 goal every 4 games. It’s not spectacular. However his international record for his native Ecuador is better, with 15 goals in 45 appearances, an average of a goal every 3 matches

But how does this compare to our other strikers at the club? Well Mladen Petric’s overall club record is certainly better than Caicedo’s, with 128 goals in 362 appearances, which is an average of a goal in less than every 3 games. Carlton Coles record at West Ham in his previous spell was 47 goals in 206 league appearances – which was over 4 games per goal on average. Finally, the much-maligned Modibo Maiga has a career record of 54 goals in 219 games, like Cole taking over four games to score a single goal. Whilst at West Ham the picture looks even bleaker, with just 2 goals in 22 appearances.

So overall the stats would suggest he wouldn’t add much to our goal department, although his goal record is not really any worse than that of our current back up strikers. However there could be more to the Ecuadorian. He appears to be a big powerful striker who is well suited to playing up front on his own. Indeed he even earnt the nickname Rocky Balboa whilst at Malaga.

This certainly seems to be a Sam Allardyce style centre forward, who is able to win headers and hold the ball up. If he is up to doing this better than the likes of Cole, Petric and Maiga, then it may be more useful having him in the team rather than those three, or indeed than no striker at all, as has been the case recently, even if he isn’t a prolific goalscorer.

Particularly at Upton Park, we have been crying out for a real presence up front, and Caicedo could provide this in the absence of Carroll. Another advantage Caicedo has ahead of Cole and Petric in particular, is his age. At 25, he could still have potential for improvement were we to sign him on a permanent deal.

The sad truth is is that there isn’t a great deal of good quality strikers available that West Ham could sign in the January window. The one man we really should try everything to get is Demba Ba at Chelsea, who has a proven excellent record for scoring in the Premier League, and is capable of fitting into Allardyce’s one striker system. If we didn’t pull this deal off, then Caicedo could be a potential option; if he is unsettled and out of favour at Lokomotiv then they may let him go for a smallish fee.

What does everyone think? Is Caicedo a good option in the current climate?