West Ham United absolutely cannot head into yet another season with Michail Antonio as our main striker once again, and Julen Lopetegui needs to find an heir to the Jamaican urgently.
Michail Antonio has been a fantastic servant for West Ham over the past nine years, but he himself has admitted that he could have left the club every single summer he’s been with us.
The 34-year-old has bagged an impressive 82 goals and 40 assists in 308 games in all competitions for the Hammers (Transfermarkt).
Nobody can argue just how important Micky has been to the club, especially since he was converted into a striker by David Moyes.
However, Antonio clearly has limitations, and Julen Lopetegui needs to bring in a big upgrade on the former Nottingham Forest man if he’s to guide us to a successful 2024/25 campaign.
The Spaniard has been linked with the likes of Forest ace Taiwo Awoniyi, but he won’t be easy to prise away from the City Ground, nor will he be cheap.
I actually think there is a far better option than Awoniyi out there, and he’s available at a real cut-price fee as well.
Lopetegui cannot waste any time – he needs to make this one happen as soon as possible. It’s about time West Ham United had a proper centre-forward!
West Ham can now sign perfect Michail Antonio heir
The 34-year-old’s career is clearly winding down now. He’s just not the player he once was, and Lopetegui has to ensure he signs a new centre-forward this summer.
It seems like the Spaniard will have a great chance to do just that, for an unbelievable bargain fee as well.
Boulaye Dia is up for grabs this summer it seems – someone who we’ve been linked with signing for years now.
According to a report from Salernitana News, the 27-year-old striker will be off this summer.
Salernitana reluctantly accepted a bid worth around £9 million for him from Lazio, but the striker turned that move down because he wants to play in the Premier League.
The Italian side are trying to get rid of the former Villarreal man after he was fined for an unauthorised interview with L’Equipe.
The Hammers have long been linked with a move for Dia, and he actually wanted to move to the London Stadium back in January.
The Senegal international is perfect for West Ham, and he’d be a big upgrade on Antonio.
The powerful striker is incredibly strong, has energy in abundance and really impressive pace as well.
He is well capable of playing with his back to goal, and is always willing to make those tireless, unselfish runs into the channels in order to help out his team.
With his physicality, it goes without saying that he’s perfectly suited to playing Premier League football as well.
Dia has bagged 20 goals and six assists in 51 games for Salernitana since joining them (Transfermarkt), so he’s obviously very capable in front of goal as well.
If the 27-year-old ends up being the Michail Antonio heir at West Ham, and he costs just £9 million, I think Lopetegui will be on the right track.
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