OPINION
Despite West Ham United splashing out a massive club record fee on star striker Sebastien Haller last summer, the Hammers are somehow still linked with attackers non-stop.
The Frenchman is clearly the main man in east London, but the London Stadium hierarchy seemingly have their eye on further attacking reinforcements.
Italian outlet Calcio Mercato reported on Sunday that Manuel Pellegrini’s side have made an offer, a new proposal, for Atlanta forward Duvan Zapata. However, it was rejected out of hand by the Serie A side.
Oh, please. We’ve been down this road many times before. Just last summer Gazzetta claimed that the Irons had made a £30million offer for the Colombian international in January.
Then, The Sun claimed that they were lining up a £40million move for the player just a few months ago. I mean, come on, when are we going to learn that this simply isn’t on the cards?
Indeed, West Ham must steer clear of Zapata. While another striker to help out Haller is a neat idea in January, Zapata isn’t the right man. He is far too similar to the former Eintracht Frankfurt man to be an effective partner for him.
It’s not that Zapata isn’t a good player – he’s excellent, in fact – but given the fact that he’s now 28 years of age and the colossal amount of money he’d cost, plus his similarities to Haller, it simply makes no sense to sign him at this point.
When you look at the statistics, it’s key that Zapata is a top striker. As per WhoScored.com, the Colombian has scored six times in just six starts this season, while he beats out Haller and fellow Hammers attacker Albian Ajeti in average shots, key passes and dribbles per game.
Again, it’s not that he’s a bad player, it’s just that he is carbon copy of Haller in the way that he plays. The Irons need a quick, intelligent striker to play off the big man, not another giant getting in his way up front.
