Jordan Hugill must find loan form after international break or face West Ham obscurity

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In January West Ham United completed the signing of Preston North End striker Jordan Hugill. David Moyes pushed for the player’s signature, after an impressive run of form at Deepdale. He cost the Hammers a reported £8 million, in what was a club record sale for the Championship side.

However, Hugill’s time at West Ham has been difficult. He played just three times for West Ham in the second half of last season at a combined value of just 22 minutes. Not unsurprisingly, the 26-year-old failed to score for his new club.

With Moyes gone in the summer and Hugill struggling he was swiftly sent out on loan, joining Middlesbrough in the Championship.

His hope would have been to score plenty of goals and justify his £8 million price-tag to new Hammers boss Manuel Pellegrini.

Unfortunately, that has not been the case.

In eight Championship games, he has not yet found the back of the net. His one goal for the club came in a 2-1 win over lower league Rochdale in the EFL Cup. He has even had to play with the under-23s this season, with Tony Pulis trying to get him into fighting shape for the Riverside club.

The international break has come at the perfect time for Hugill, after an ineffective and much-criticised display against Nottingham Forest at the weekend.

If he is to prove that he can be an asset to West Ham he needs to find the back of the net in the Championship soon, and continue to do so, once the Football League is back in full flow.