West Ham have had a fair few problems this season. Their move from Upton Park to the London Stadium has been a disaster, injuries have robbed them of some of their key stars and results have, on the whole, been awful, with the club sitting 17th in the Premier League.
Although there are many reasons for the Irons’ woes, we at Football FanCast think their botched summer drive to get a striker is among the bigger issues. The Hammers’ long search saw them knocked back more times than a spotty teenager at a school disco as a host of big players either laughed them away from the negotiation table or clubs kindly rejected their somewhat speculative advances.
Since then, they’ve managed Âjust a goal-a-game in the league. That may well improve with Andre Ayew back fit, but we think January is a key period for the club – with adding a striker to their ranks sure to be on the agenda.
Jermain Defoe
Let’s start with a bit of a controversial one, shall we?
Defoe started his career with the Hammers and despite leaving the club in less than ideal circumstances when he moved to Tottenham in 2004, he’s showing 12 years on that he is still a force to be reckoned with in the Premier League.
The 34-year-old has scored five of a struggling Sunderland side’s seven top flight goals so far this season, and Bilic even described the striker’s finishing as “absurd” before the two teams met last month.
Kostas Mitroglou
Now, West Ham fans, don’t be put off by the Greek ace’s last spell in the Premier League – a brief three-game stint with Fulham as they slipped to relegation – Mitroglou is a very good forward.
It’s not fair to judge the 28-year-old on his contributions with a Cottagers team that was unravelling at the seams around him, so we’ll instead look at his record since moving to Benfica, initially on loan.
He hit 20 Premeira Liga goals in 32 outings last term and has followed that up with four in seven for the Lisbon side this season, while he notched two in the Europa League across 2015/16 in just four starts.
Benfica, and Portuguese clubs as a whole, are known for their desire to sell players at a profit, so chances are a decent offer will be enough to land the powerful front-man.
Edin Dzeko
Following Simone Zaza’s struggles to date, Bilic may be tempted to move for a striker that has experience of playing in the Premier League.
Dzeko certainly fits that bill, having scored 50 goals in 130 English top flight appearances before he joined Roma in 2015.
It remains to be seen whether the 30-year-old would be keen on a move back to England, but his impressive record and ability to play up top on his own certainly make him an attractive proposition for the Irons.
Daniel Sturridge
Why not? Sturridge is some way down the pecking order at Liverpool and with Jurgen Klopp’s Reds playing so well inÂa striker-less system and facing few games due to their lack of European football, chances are he’ll be extremely frustrated come January.
The Englishman is an excellent goalscorer and seems to have put his injury issues behind him in recent months, too. The major issue may be tempting Klopp to let him leave, as having a player of the ex-Chelsea man’s quality in reserve will be favourable during a potential title charge.
Anthony Modeste
A slightly hipster choice is Modeste, who is currently the leading scorer across Europe’s five biggest divisions with 11 goals. The Frenchman has been excellent for Koln this season in theÂBundesliga, with his burly, physical approach key to the Billy Goats’ current fourth-place berth.
He’s 28 and Koln will surely be tempted by a serious cash offer for their 6ft. 1†ace.
Saido Berahino
The West Bromwich Albion striker seems to have struggled to get his career going in recent seasons because of issues with his attitude, but you just know from watching his goals that he’s got quality in there.
Whether Bilic will want to take a risk on Berahino is unclear, especially as he is currently undergoing extra trainingÂto improve his apparently unsatisfactory fitness.
However, a new start at a new club might be just the tonic the 23-year-old needs, and with his contract at the Hawthorns due to run out next summer, he might not be too pricey either.
Leonardo Ulloa
Despite being a hero in the latter stages of Leicester’s title win, Ulloa’s game time has been restricted thus far following the arrival of Islam Slimani at the King Power Stadium. Indeed, the Argentine has not yet started a match in 2016/17, with 10 goalless outings all as a substitute across league, cup, Community Shield and Champions League action.
The 30-year-old knows the division, is physical enough to lead Bilic’s line alone and will surely jump at the chance to play some football.
Moussa Dembele
Dembele only joined Celtic over the summer, but he’s already been prolific north of the border, with a hat-trick in the Old Firm Derby and a double against Manchester City in the Champions League part of a 13-goal haul in all competitions.
There’s no doubt that Celtic will want mega money for their freebie addition, but West Ham have cash and it’s fairly obvious Dembele picked the Glasgow club as a stepping stone to a bigger team.
