With the vital January transfer window under a month away, persistent rumours keep circulating as to potential striking targets for West Ham.
We all know we need a decent quality striker regardless of whether Andy Carroll is fit by then or not, with Modibo Maiga likely to be shipped out and Carlton Cole barely in use, and nearing end of his three-month contract. Furthermore, Mladen Petric hasn’t been fit for some time, and cannot be relied upon to do the job we require.
The latest name for us to be linked with is Bafetimbi Gomis of Lyon, with some reports stating that he is Allardyce’s first choice (The Metro). It’s no secret that he is likely to be sold in January to someone, with the player wanting out and Lyon looking to cash in on the forward before his contract runs out. Indeed it has been said that other English clubs are after him.
It can be seen why Allardyce would be so keen on Gomis, who seems to fit the mould for a Big Sam style centre forward. He is big and strong and can hold the ball up well, attributes ideal for a lone front player. Indeed he has earnt himself the nickname of ‘baby Drogba’ in France. He also has been called up to the French national squad on several occasions in the last few seasons.
However I cannot say I’m overly excited by this prospect. While he has a good goalscoring record in France, at about a goal every two games, Ligue 1 is a much lower standard to the level of the Premier League, and there is absolutely no guarantee he will deliver for us.
I’m not saying he definitely wouldn’t however, and there have been some strikers from the French league who have delivered in England, such as Didier Drogba and Olivier Giroud, but at a mooted 5-7 million pounds, it seems like quite a risk to take on someone with absolutely no Premier League experience, especially with the current financial situation.
I would much rather such a sum were spent on someone we know can perform at this level such as Chelsea’s Demba Ba. Far too many times West Ham have spent valuable money on someone from abroad who turns out to be out of their depth in the Premier League and it is vital we make the right choice in January. A prime example would be Modibo Maiga, whom we spent about 5 million pounds on, who had a good goal scoring record in France, but has by and large been poor for us. Saturday’s match against Fulham was an exception and he put in a good display, but one game in a year and a half is not convincing.
So I think if we have such money to spend, wouldn’t it be wiser to spend it on a striker who knows the Premier League, and has a proven record there? Ba would be my first choice, but there are other options such as Everton’s Nikica Jelavic and Tottenham’s Emmanuel Adebayor.
Allardyce has based his success at West Ham on players signed from within England or already at the club. In fact how often at all in our recent history have we made a signing from abroad who has established themselves in our first team and gone on to become a success for the Hammers? I can only think of Winston Reid (I know Avram Grant signed him!) and perhaps Guy Demel under the Allardyce reign.
There were none under Avram Grant (unless you count Reid). Going further back under Alan Curbishley and Gianfranco Zola there were the likes of Diamanti and Behrami who were good for brief periods but that is about it from what I can remember.
There were many more failures in my book. What do you all think? Am I over cautious in not wanting to sign players from foreign leagues? And have such players been more successful for the Hammers than I have made out?
