Former Premier League striker Kevin Phillips has endorsed any potential move West Ham make for Burnley star Chris Wood this summer.
This comes after the Hammers were linked with the 29-year-old New Zealand international – with the Clarets likely to demand at least £30million for their man.
The 6’3 frontman reached double figures in the top flight for the fourth consecutive season recently, hitting 12 goals in the 2020/21 campaign.
Another man used to finding the back of the net, Phillips has told Football Insider that despite the lofty figures involved, David Moyes would be signing the real deal.
I think he would be an upgrade on (Sebastien) Haller. Chris Wood is a real handful and he consistently scores goals. I know him well because he was a player I coached at Leicester. He has developed into a real old fashioned, tough centre-forward. You ask any defender, they do not like playing against him. With the creativity West Ham have from wide areas I think he would score goals. He can create his own goals as well. If David Moyes can secure his services for two or three seasons I think that would be a great bit of business, to be honest.
Having allowed the aforementioned Haller to leave the club in January, Moyes is certainly in the market for a centre-forward this summer.
Numerous other names have been linked with the Irons, including Patson Daka, Ivan Toney, Adam Armstrong and Tammy Abraham.
READ WEST HAM VERDICT
Signing Wood has certainly got immediate benefits, with the Kiwi likely to hit the ground running in east London and provide an instant threat.
However, shelling out a large chunk of the budget on a player aged 29 with little in the way of resale value seems an unlikely venture from the Hammers hierarchy.
Despite turning away from the valuation previously, spending £40million on a 23-year-old Abraham would make more sense than this deal.
