OPINION
The summer has started brightly for West Ham United, with the release of senior players such as Andy Carroll and Samir Nasri being followed by the signing of Pablo Fornals.
A clearout followed by their first signature seemed to be their main business done, with the Hammers now moving on to securing a new striker for next season.
Manuel Pellegrini looks to have set his sights on Celta Vigo forward Maxi Gomez, with the Chilean preparing to make a second offer for the Uruguayan after his first was reportedly rejected.
Two of the more bizarre rumours to surface, are the potential signings of Fernando Llorente , as stated by EXWHUemployee, and Emmanuel Adebayor. The Sun reported on Saturday that the Hammers were set to rival two Premier League clubs for the former Arsenal striker.
Mario Husillos must take the Togo international off his shortlist immediately, with the 35-year-old far from what the club needs at this moment in time.
When comparing Adebayor to the Hammers’ current striking option Marko Arnautovic via WhoScored – it is impossible to even compare the two.
The Austrian international clearly is better than Adebayor in almost every department apart from offsides per game. The most telling stats are the pair’s contributions per game. Arnautovic offers far more of a presence up top, averaging a shot more per game than the free-agent, and also easily outscores his average in key passes – this simply shows that the Hammers man is much more effective as a lone striker.
It gets even worst for Adebayor when you compare him to West Ham’s top target Maxi Gomez, with the 22-year-old having been involved in 13 more goals in the previous campaign.
The Uruguayan international also suits the lone striker role better than the former Basaksehir forward, being fouled almost twice per game, and being dispossessed fewer times on the ball.
There are many reasons why West Ham should halt their reported pursuit of Adebayor this summer, with their top target and current striker a step above the 35-year-old, who doesn’t hold what it takes to play in the Premier League anymore.
