OPINION
West Ham must hijack Crystal Palace’s reported pursuit of Arsenal forward Danny Welbeck in order to be able to bin Javier Hernandez as soon as possible.
The Sun reported on Tuesday that Palace wanted the 27-year-old forward in January in a £10million deal and were currently weighing up whether to go ahead and make a bid for him in the New Year.
Given that £10million is a bargain price to play for an attacker with tons of Premier League experience like Welbeck, then the Hammers must intervene.
The 27-year-old, who can also play on the wing, has scored 42 goals in 206 in England’s top-flight and is capable of scoring regularly if played in a central position.
Welbeck is regularly deployed on the wing at the Gunners and that sees his goalscoring potential limited.
Arsenal are very likely to consider accepting a low fee like £10million for Welbeck as The Sun’s report explained the forward’s contract is set to go in the summer and £10million is better than getting no fee for his services.
While the Hammers should consider getting involved because of the forward’s price, they should swoop for Welbeck in January as it would see them able to bin Hernandez sooner.
The forward, who earns a whopping £140,000-a-week (Source: Spotrac), has never set the world alight at the London Stadium and given his massive wage, it would be for the best if he made way for more useful players.
Hernandez did score in his last outing against Burnley but 10 goals in 42 appearances for the club is not enough to justify his pay packet, especially when it can be put to better use.
Given that the Hammers aren’t the most prolific this season, Manuel Pellegrini will understandably be reluctant to sanction the exit of any attacking player.
However by successfully swooping for the reasonably priced Welbeck it would enable the club to bin Hernandez off their books in the process, as a suitable replacement would have arrived.
