Manuel Pellegrini has rejected numerous free-agents offered to him by West Ham United and will wait until January to strengthen his forwards, according to Football Insider.
The reputable football outlet claimed that the Hammers’ boss still sanctioned the exit of Javier Hernandez to Sevilla despite turning down the chance to sign a replacement.
Football Insider report that Pellegrini didn’t believe that any of the potential signings had the quality to make it in the West Ham side.
Pellegrini currently only has Sebastien Haller and Albian Ajeti fully fit to lead the line, after the exit of Hernandez and injury to fellow forward Michail Antonio.
Premier League sides are allowed to sign free-agents despite the transfer window closing at the beginning of August.
OPINION
Pellegrini clearly has a lot of faith in his current strikers and their ability to continue to impress. Football Insider have recently reported that Antonio will be out until Christmas, meaning that the pressure is on Haller and Ajeti to carry the load until then. Pellegrini obviously does not want to add players to his squad for the sake of it, and if the Chilean believes that any potential signing isn’t good enough, he’s right to reject them. Should both Haller and Ajeti stay fit then West Ham would be in a situation where they are paying the wages of a forward that isn’t necessarily good enough, and one that possibly wouldn’t even make a single appearance for the club. The Hammers and Pellegrini must have faith in the options they have, and should another injury occur, a change of system could provide sufficient cover, with players such as Manuel Lanzini capable of pushing further forward. We can see Pellegrini looking to add to his attacking recruits in January, though.