OPINION
A few months into the season and it has become clear that West Ham United need a bit of added quality up front.
Marko Arnautovic has essentially shouldered the attacking burden by himself at the London Stadium this campaign, with Javier Hernandez suffering from illness, Andy Carroll injured and Lucas Perez a non-fixture since his move from Arsenal in the summer.
However, with question marks over the futures of Arnautovic and Hernandez, it would be a good idea for manager Manuel Pellegrini to bring in attacking reinforcements in January, namely Fernando Llorente.
The Spaniard is wasted sat on the Wembley sidelines for Tottenham Hotspur, and West Ham are known to have an interest in the 33-year-old.
The Mail reported in August that the club were considering a deadline day swoop for the former Swansea City man, a deal that ultimately never came to fruition.
On Thursday the Sun claimed that Spurs were willing to let the frontman go for as little as £4million in the winter transfer window, in an attempt to make some money off the veteran striker before his contract with the club expires in the summer.
There aren’t many better attackers around for £4million, that’s for sure. Llorente would be a smart, low cost addition for the Hammers, and would provide them with a nice mid season boost.
His presence up top would lighten the load on Arnautovic, and would give the Austrian much more to work with in terms of knock downs and flick ons.
Llorente showed with Swansea that he can cut it in the Premier League and, while his skills have undoubtedly rusted while at Tottenham, at £4million he is a risk worth taking.
According to the Sun’s report West Ham would face competition for the Spaniard from Championship high-flyers Leeds United, but surely a continued stay in the top flight would be preferable to a reunion with former boss Marcelo Bielsa.
Llorente would be the perfect addition to shore up the Hammers’ attack and provide a little added security at the position moving forward. For such a bargain fee it’s a no brainer for Pellegrini.
