West Ham United are reportedly eyeing a move for Watford captain Troy Deeney in a bid to bolster their attack. The forward is known for his abilities upfront and that is something the Hammers are desperate to bring into the squad in January. Despite a wonderful campaign in the previous season, things didn’t go as planned for Slaven Bilić and his men.
The London club is currently lying in 17th spot having picked up just 11 points from their 11 games. The problems which the team has faced have a lot to do with their lack of goalscoring. With only 11 goals scored, the Hammers have identified that they need to bring in a player who can score for them regularly.
While Deeney hasn’t been exactly prolific in the Premier League after netting 23 times in the Championship in 2013/14 and 21 the following year, last season he has scored 13 goals and provided 7 assists. It shows that the player makes a considerable impact when he plays and his exceptional workrate coupled with his intelligence allows his team to be more effective in the final third.
Since the move to the London Stadium, West Ham have been severely affected by their forward line. Andy Carroll has been dogged by injury again this season, resulting in his manager to admit that he can no longer rely on the 27-year-old target-man.
Record signing Andre Ayew’s hopes of making an instant impact, following his £20.5m summer move from Swansea were quashed on his debut against Chelsea by a thigh injury that sidelined him until last month.
Diafra Sakho, another forward who was due to leave the club in the summer to West Brom did not happen in the end but the club couldn’t get him to contribute this season due to a back problem. The most disappointing, however, have been the duo of Simone Zaza and Jonathan Calleri. The two players have failed miserably in making an impact at the London Stadium, especially Zaza on whom the club and the manager relied upon.
Watford have had to put up with bids for their captain in the summer with the Hornets rejecting offers of £25m from Leicester City. Deeney signed a five-year contract in the summer, committing his future to the club a salary of £50,000 per week.
The deal puts Watford in a very strong position which means that West Ham will need to shell out some serious cash for their intended target. It is, however, believed that Bilić is willing to go the distance to solve his problems upfront and bring about a drastic change in the league position of the club.
