Former Premier League striker Kevin Phillips has warned West Ham that they must sign an instant replacement for Sebastien Haller, who joined Ajax last week for £20.5m.
Phillips, a former Golden Boot winner with Sunderland, told Football Insider that the Hammers must not rest on their laurels when it comes to replacing the much-maligned Ivorian.
The 47-year-old said: ”I would be shocked if they let him go and do not sign a replacement this month. You would just be leaving yourself short if you did not. It would be like when Romelu Lukaku was allowed to leave Manchester United. They did not replace him with another striker.”
Phillips did caveat his Lukaku comparison as not exactly being like-for-like in terms of impact, but, the dearth of strikers left behind in the respective squads is a legitimate cause for concern.
David Moyes find himself with just one senior striker in his squad in Michail Antonio, and the 30-year-old is not to be relied upon given his ongoing injury problems.
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Signing a striker is of paramount importance for West Ham this month.
Moyes recently admitted that the club didn’t have an option lined up despite seemingly having the money available to spend, which if true makes the decision to allow Haller to leave so soon into the window a little bemusing.
Whilst the 26-year-old endured a torrid spell at times in east London, should Antonio succumb to injuries before a replacement can be sought, the Hammers could be made to rue their decision to let Haller leave.
Typically, the former Irons striker made an instant impact with his new club, coming off the bench to set up their equaliser against PSV over the weekend.
