Hammers in for La Liga striker

January is fast approaching and finally the transfer market will become open and we will have the ability to buy some strikers. Right now Big Sam wants to buy Valencia’s Jonas, a move I think would be brilliant. At 29 some people my think he is too old, however players can still achieve a lot when they are 30 and above.

The big question is cost, how much will he cost? And will Valencia sell him? Having scored 8 goals in 12 games he is in red-hot form. He is their highest goal scorer and a shining light in a bad season. Valencia sit 11th in the La Liga table and when you consider that they are a team that should be in the Champions League this presents an unwillingness to sell, so West Ham will have to raid the bank in order to get him.

However Valencia are in big trouble, their debt it too high and everyone knows it. Bankia owns the club and so at anytime a fire sale could emerge. A Singaporean billionaire has said he will save the club, however people have a habit of saying one thing and doing another. Promises can be broken especially when it come to hundreds of millions of euros. If there is a fire sale, West Ham should pounce and grab Jonas.

There are two sayings that I love: “It’s better to buy an excellent player at a fair price than a fair player at a excellent price” and “a player is only expensive if they don’t perform.” While everyone knows that we need another striker, we have to make sure we get the right one, not a flop.

The biggest factor is the price. While I don’t know West Ham’s bank balance, I am sure that we could only spend about £8-10 million and that would be pushing it. Transfermarkt.com rates him as a €12 million player. Valencia would most likely turn an offer of that size down for him.

There are other options available. Jese Rodriguez is available for loan from Real Madrid, he is a real star and isn’t getting games because Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and a bloke called Cristiano Ronaldo sit in his way. Also in the same boat is Alvaro Morata, he wants a loan deal and some big clubs are chasing him, however if you go out on loan you want to get games and he will get them at West Ham.

I must admit that I don’t get to watch much of Spanish football, simply because I just don’t have the time. When I do, I follow Barcelona and they have yet to play Valencia, so I haven’t had the chance to watch him play. From what I do understand is he is a good finisher, who has hit some great form.
Big Sam is hanging by a thread at West Ham; he has survived until now because of the patience of the owners. But this is a results industry, and the fans are screaming for results and screaming to climb the ladder. He is well aware we need some more goal scoring firepower, and the question of weather Jonas is the silver bullet or not is up to him.

If we were able to get one of the two players I mentioned above for loan from Real Madrid and Jonas for about €8 million we would have done ourselves some good business. However should they want anything over €12 million. We should go look somewhere else, as there are better players for less as we all know what happens when you put all of your eggs in one basket.

Also I wish all you West Ham fans a Merry Christmas