OPINION
With reports suggesting that Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi is being targeted by Valencia this summer, West Ham need to make him an offer he can’t refuse.
As reported by the Mirror, Spanish side Valencia hope to lure Batshuayi with the promise of Champions League football and regular minutes next season.
However, West Ham need the Belgian more than the La Liga side, as he could be the final piece in the jigsaw for Manuel Pellegrini this summer.
The 24-year-old, who earns £90,000-per-week at Stamford Bridge (Spotrac), would be the perfect signing for the Hammers and would be the icing on the cake of their tremendous transfer window so far.
When you take in to account the London club’s new signings and you look at the first team squad, you can clearly see that the wide players have the most talent and are of the highest quality, compared to other areas of the pitch.
They need to utilise the speed, delivery and quality from these areas next season if they are to really feel the benefit of spending all this money on new players.
Andriy Yarmolenko, Felipe Anderson, Marko Arnautovic, Robert Snodgrass and Michail Antonio are wide players who have different qualities but are all very effective in what they do. Having Andy Carroll missing is a big blow, as he would have been a good striker to feed off their service.
Instead, they’re left with Javier Hernandez, who is a very good poacher but he thrives off through balls from midfield and passes in behind the defence rather than crosses into the box. What’s the point in having good wide players with no one to cross to?
That’s where Batshuayi comes in, he would be the perfect foil for the new arrivals and would give them a target to aim for in the box when the beat their opposition marker in wide areas.
He’s a top quality striker, who could be available, and needs to be signed by Pellegrini this summer if he wants to get the best out of his new squad.
