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No doubting that West Ham ace was an absolute bargain

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Diafra Sakho Hull CityAndy Carroll has received much praise in the days following his match winning performance against Swansea City, and rightly so. But another man who had a great impact in that same fixture was fit again Diafra Sakho, who capped off his fine display with the final goal in the 3-1 win for West Ham.

It was far from just that strike – latching on to flick on from Andy Carroll to smash the ball home – which emphasised what he brings to the team, however. From the moment the Senegalese international stepped onto the pitch at the start of the second half, he caused havoc for the Swansea defence, not allowing them a moment of peace. His movement was excellent in and around the box, whilst his link-up play with Andy Carroll throughout was very encouraging to see for West Ham supporters, and the Swans struggled to contain the pair.

A particular feature of Sakho’s performance was his constant harassment of the Swansea defence. He was an absolute pest to them during the entirety of the second half; hunting down defenders in possession and showing willingness to chase down any hopeful ball which was punted forward – creating situations out of nowhere for the Hammers.

Such efforts helped cause one of the games main talking points; the sending off of Lucasz Fabianski in the Swansea goal after he impeded Sakho when the striker had managed to knock the ball past him. Sakho also fashioned a chance for himself after he successfully nicked the ball from Ashley Williams which sent him clean through on goal, only to see his effort strike the post.

Following the former FC Metz striker’s goal on Sunday, it is now 8 goals in just 10 appearances for the frontman following his move to Upton Park in the summer. This gives him a phenomenal strike rate of a goal every 1.25 matches. How long has it been since Hammers fans have seen a striker produce a goal record anywhere near that level?

It has to be said that during his relatively short career at West Ham so far, Sakho has looked like a complete striker. Aside from his goals, of which have come in many different shapes and forms, he has shown everything you would want to see from a frontman; he can head the ball, hold it up well, has good pace and movement, and is extremely hardworking.

In my opinion, at the meagre £3.5million he cost the Hammers, Sakho has been the best value for money player that has been signed by any Premier League club this season. The only worry really is keeping him fit, especially when he participates in the African Cup of Nations for Senegal in January. If he can come through that tournament unscathed, then the Hammers really could be in business this season.

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