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Frenchman to West Ham would be the deal of the summer

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It is no secret the Hammers need a striker. We have done for years, and yet continually we fail in finding the right man to hit the back of the net on the regular, despite the elaborate fees paid for to-be goal scorers in the past.

Mauro Zarate, Benni McCarthy, Mido, Mladen Petric, Modibo Maïga, Marouane Chamakh. The list goes on. Mention Simone Zaza and there will be trouble.

So poor has been West Ham’s recruitment of forwards over the years, almost a third of the 32 signed over the last seven seasons subsequently left the club without scoring. In total, the 32 managed a meek 128 goals in 643 games in all competitions.

Only Diafra Sakho, who signed from FC Metz for £3.5 million back in 2014, and Demba Ba who joined from Hoffenheim, can be seen as relative successes, or at the very least value for money, however neither had the fitness nor longevity at the club to turn into the top calibre forward who could carry the Hammers forward into European football that we have so craved.

That must change. And it must change this summer.

If Dimitri Payet’s departure due to a lack of ambition is not a wake up call for David Gold and David Sullivan, it is hard to see what will be.

Talks of £20 million + strikers that will score 20+ goals a season now must turn into guarantees and not false promises, and instead of gambling on forwards who are perennially shy in front of the net, instead look to a proven Premier League goalscorer.

With talks of Michy Bathsuayi and Kelechi Iheanacho potentially arriving at the club, you can be forgiven for being excited, as both are promising young talents who will undoubtedly one day be high class forwards. However the one name that has had me jumping out of my seat, is Olivier Giroud: the too often berated and vastly under-appreciated Arsenal forward who has recently expressed his desire for first team football, stating he will ‘not settle for another season with such limited playing time.’

Arsene Wenger is chasing both Kylian Mbappe and Alexandre Lacazette, suggesting that time may be up for the scorpion kicking striker at the Emirates, and instead he may have to look elsewhere for top flight football.

And why not West Ham? The Frenchman would be a terrific signing. Just shy of 100 goals for the Gunners in 226 appearances (many of those from the bench), Giroud’s goal scoring record is outstanding, and while at times he may appear absent in the pitch, the Frenchman knows full well where the net is.

Possessing the best goals:minute ratio of any striker in the league last season, and moreover in Europe, the 30-year-old is also not shy of an assist or two, getting six this season to boot.

Stats don’t tell you everything, but they certainly don’t lie.

Do you think Giroud would be a fantastic signing for the Hammers? Let us know below.

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