Report: West Ham have three London-based strikers on shortlist, including Arsenal man

By Will Butcher

The Daily Star have claimed that West Ham United have put together a three-man striker shortlist ahead of the summer, which includes Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham and two other London-based forwards.

The Hammers need a striker having sold Sebastian Haller in the January window to Ajax – who has since scored seven goals and created five more in 11 Ajax appearances. They failed to replace him, despite making an offer for Sevilla’s Youssed En-Nesyri.

The latest report claims West Ham have targeted 23-year-old Abraham, who is in and out of the Chelsea side at the moment as he rivals both Timo Werner and Olivier Giroud. He has stats of 12 goals in 30 Chelsea outings – starting only 18 of those games.

West Ham want to sign the £58,000-a-week (Spotrac) England star – but they are also keeping tabs on Arsenal forward Eddie Nketiah who has fallen down the pecking order at The Emirates behind Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.

The other name on the shortlist as Brentford’s on-fire striker Ivan Toney – who has scored 25 goals in 32 games since joining The Bees. Toney is likely to have enormous interest in his services come the summer, given he is likely to exceed 30 for the season.

(Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

TBR’s view – Which one suits West Ham best?

David Moyes has formed an identity that works at West Ham – and it centres around striker Michail Antonio. So, the striker they bring in needs to cover Antonio, and perhaps compete with the ex-Nottingham Forest powerhouse.

What an incoming signing must understand, is that he is probably not going to start every match. Abraham has shown he can score goals even if he fails to start regularly, while Nketiah will get more game time as Antonio’s back-up than he is currently.

But perhaps Toney is the best move. West Ham have shown that signing Championship players works – Jarrod Bowen, for example. Young, English, and available for less than £30million, perhaps, Toney might be ideal for the Hammers.

(Photo by Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images)