Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah may be interested in a move to West Ham, according to talkSPORT reporter Alex Crook.
The Lowdown: Nketiah’s deal expiring
The Arsenal forward’s contract is expiring in June and Nketiah has previously expressed a desire to keep his options open until the end of the season, despite being offered a contract by the North London side.
But with June drawing ever closer, plenty of clubs will be circling round for the services of the 22-year-old.
The Latest: Hammers will ‘appeal’ to Nketiah
When asked about the possibility of Nketiah moving across to North London, the talkSPORT reporter suggested that the move could suit the man with four Premier League goals to his name this season
“Obviously he’d still be in London, still a big club, could go there and be the main man, play European football. I think that would appeal to him,” he told GIVEMESPORT.
“How do you find a role for him and [Michail] Antonio in that team?
“I think because Antonio is not a natural centre-forward and his goals have dried up a bit since the turn of the year, I think that [bringing in Nketiah] would still work.”
The Verdict: A massive gap filled for free
It’s been no secret that the Irons have been on the hunt for a striker for multiple transfer windows now, so the addition of Nketiah would be a great addition to the side, especially as a free agent.
Though Antonio has performed admirably in that centre-forward position for West Ham, he is better suited to causing havoc out wide, whilst Nketiah has more of a knack for scoring goals, judging by his better goals per 90 ratio, with Nketiah finding the back of the net 0.47 times per 90, in comparison to Antonio’s 0.28 as per FBref.
There’s also a significant age gap, with Nketiah aged 22, which is nine junior to Antonio, suggesting that the current Arsenal man could be more of a long-term solution in that number 9 role.
The Gunners academy graduate, lauded as “dangerous” and as a “goal machine“, could prove to be quite the bargain indeed.
AND in other news, Andriy Yarmolenko has all but confirmed his West Ham exit…