West Ham United manager Julen Lopetegui wants to sign a very familiar striker this summer it seems.
Julen Lopetegui has plenty of important tasks to take care of at West Ham this summer, and he undoubtedly should be prioritising the addition of a new centre-forward.
It was claimed not long ago that that is exactly what he is doing, as the Hammers look to finally move on from having Michail Antonio as our starting striker.
West Ham have an incredibly exciting attacking setup, with Jarrod Bowen, Mohammed Kudus and Lucas Paqueta all currently at the club.
However, the addition of a top-class striker would take West Ham to another level entirely.
The East London outfit have been heavily linked with the likes of Youssef En-Nesyri and Samu Omorodion.
Getting top striker signed is Lopetegui’s priority
En-Nesyri or Omorodion would both be very good signings for the Hammers – the Moroccan especially.
However, as things stand, nothing appears to be close as yet, and now Lopetegui has switched his attention elsewhere it seems.
What will be crucial for the Hammers boss this summer is signing someone who fits perfectly into his system.
Lopetegui usually likes his teams to operate with one striker – a focal point for his team to build their attacks through.
The centre-forward needs to be hard-working, athletic, fit as a fiddle, strong in the air, and obviously a good finisher.
En-Nesyri possesses all of those attributes – it’s why I think he’d be perfectly suited to playing for West Ham under Lopetegui.
However, it’s not just the Sevilla ace who the Hammers are chasing. The former Wolves boss seems to casting his net far and wide this summer, with a potential move in the pipeline for someone who scored his debut Premier League goal against us last season.
Julen Lopetegui wants to sign 25-year-old striker
So, the Spaniard could look to La Liga for a potential new signing this summer.
Despite the fact he is owned by a Spanish club, he actually spent four months playing in the Premier League last season.
According to Tuttomercatoweb, former Blackburn forward Ben Brereton Diaz is firmly on the Hammers’ radar this summer.
The 25-year-old Villarreal-owned striker spent the second half of last season on loan with Sheffield United, and scored in his Premier League debut for them against, you’ve guessed it, West Ham!
The Hammers were heavily linked with signing the Chile international last summer, before he joined Villarreal on a free transfer from Blackburn Rovers.
He is a very hard working striker, and has a decent goalscoring record to his name.
Brereton Diaz scored 38 goals in his last 87 games for Blackburn, and six in 14 for Sheffield United. However, it must be noted that he failed to score or assist in 20 appearances for Villarreal during the first half of this season just gone (Transfermarkt).
I just don’t think he’s the man we need this summer, if we are to truly make some genuine progress.
However, if Julen Lopetegui really wants to sign 25-year-old striker this summer, then we’ll have to back his judgement. I just doubt the veracity of the report.
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