West Ham should sign Brentford star Ivan Toney over Borussia Dortmund striker Niklas Fullkrug this summer, according to former Hammers striker Frank McAvennie.
Julen Lopetegui appears to want to bring in a top-quality centre forward to lead the line, with Michail Antonio arguably not quite the force he used to be.
Numerous players have been linked with summer moves to West Ham in that position, with Toney and Fullkrug two standout options to come in.
Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie urged the east Londoners to move for the former, given his Premier League experience:
“He’s a big player, he’s a big man who can bring other players in. I don’t know what they’d want for him (Dortmund) around £30-£40 million and you get what you pay for. I do like the boy.
“West Ham need somebody to score 20-odd goals, they need a striker to score 20-odd goals every year and I don’t know if this boy can do that. He’s never played here. If I was paying £30 million for this boy in Germany, who’s a good player don’t get me wrong, but can he do it in the Premiership?
“It’s a gamble so you should go spend that money on Ivan Toney because it’s not a gamble, he scores goals. That’s just me as a striker, I’m looking for the best for West Ham because he (Toney) would bring everyone into play. What a signing it would be.”
While Fullkrug is an excellent player in his own right, enjoying a stellar 2023/24 season with Dortmund that saw him score 12 goals in the Bundesliga and reach the Champions League final, he is 31 years of age and not a long-term option.
Toney is three years his junior and has now racked up 36 goals in 85 Premier League appearances, and he feels more likely to hit the ground running and be a force for West Ham for several years.
Brentford manager Thomas Frank appears to be resigned to losing his most high-profile player this summer, saying it’s “quite obvious” that he will move on, adding that he is “in his prime” currently.
There is no reason why Toney couldn’t excel in a Hammers shirt, scoring goals at a relentless rate, not to mention dovetailing beautifully with the likes of Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen.
