West Ham fans will feel understandably aggrieved by the club’s failure to acquire a striker to provide cover and competition for Michail Antonio – but there is at least an explanation.
Whilst the revelation will do little to allay the fears of Hammers fans, David Moyes opened up on why the Irons opted not to bring in a striker, despite funds being made available.
According to Sky Sports News [via football.london], the West Ham board made £20-30million available to Moyes to bring in a striker and this was made clear to Moyes on the morning of transfer deadline day.
However, Moyes was reportedly fearful of bringing in the wrong player – essentially one that did not fit into a long-term vision for the club.
Moyes has previously spoken on this topic and reiterated his cautious approach to transferring in a striker.
“I don’t want to waste money, I don’t want to waste the space in the squad and fill it up with someone who is going to be here for two/three years and maybe I can’t move on and I can’t change around. I want people in who I think will be here for a while,” he said.
“We have had one or two offers for players either rejected or not available or the clubs want too much money in our eyes, so it is not as if we are not trying,” Moyes said.
Read West Ham Verdict
For a squad pushing up the table and aiming for European football, West Ham’s striking fate now rests precariously on the fitness of Michail Antonio.
With no recognised competition, it likely that West Ham will look to youth or make a makeshift forward out of their other attacking options.
There is an element of shrewdness to withstanding the urge to ‘panic buy’ a striker, but one cannot help but feel there were plentiful options – even short-term ones – that could have been made available.
