Roma striker Edin Dzeko has been linked with the club a few times in the past few weeks. We obviously have money to spend on a striker, and Dzeko has always scored wherever he’s played so it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Bosnian did make his way to East London at the beginning of next season.
However, is he the striker that we are looking for? The answer is no, and here’s why…
Dzeko has just turned 30, last week. A 30+ striker isn’t quite what West Ham fans would be dreaming about, unless it was Ibrahimovic, because if we’re spending huge money like this on a striker, they need to have longevity and potentially selling value to the club.
Gold and Sullivan aren’t going to be eager to splash out £20 million on Dzeko for 1/2 good seasons, before his transfer value plummets as the end of his career begins. He isn’t a big enough name to warrant that money at his age and the team currently has a youthful vibrance about it which is one of the reasons we are doing so well.
But as a player does Dzeko fit the bill?
If Andy Carroll’s West Ham career came to an end this season, then Dzeko could potentially be a great signing to replace him. Dzeko is a goalscorer purely. He gets in the right position and scores goals, as we saw for Manchester City and Roma this season. With the players we have behind him, Dzeko could hit the 20 goal mark next season as our preferred striker, and there are no questions about him suiting to the Premier League as we have already seen that he can cope.
Dzeko famously got the equaliser that led to Aguero’s winning goal for Manchester City to win them the Premier League title, so he can be called on in big moments. His goals record is top drawer as well:
For Bosnia he has 45 goals in 76 matches.
At Wolfsburg he got 66 goals in 111 league matches.
At City he got 72 in 189, with about 50 appearances coming as a substitute.
At Roma he is averaging about a goal every 3 games.
Edin Dzeko can finish on either foot and with his head. He is a threat at set pieces, which would suit Payet’s delivery and his goalscoring record is that of a top striker. His age and price tag mean that a move is unlikely unless a cut price deal can be negotiated. I wouldn’t be disappointed to see Dzeko in claret and blue next year, but we need a younger striker in alongside who also has a great record, and if a younger striker like Lacazette or Batshuayi end up costing £20 million, then it would be them over Dzeko unfortunately.
A good striker, but not ideal at this point in time for West Ham.
He also missed this sitter for Roma this season:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYFrkLnuLdM
