According to a recent report by Football.London, West Ham United feel like they have a 50% chance of bringing FC Basel centre-forward Albian Ajeti to the London Stadium before the English transfer window slams shut at 5 pm tomorrow. The same source has also claimed the Swiss giants are set to demand a fee of £8m if they are to part ways with their prized asset in this off-season.
The Recent Emergence Of Albian Ajeti In European Football
Ajeti joined his boyhood club, FC Basel, at an early age before coming through their youth ranks to feature at the senior level. However, he struggled to prove his worth as part of the Basel first-team and was forced to make a switch to FC Augsburg in search of more first-team chances back in 2016.
The Swiss rising star also had to go out on loan to play for FC St. Gallen 1879 before FC Basel opted to re-sign him in the fall of 2017. Ajeti was in a rich vein of form under Marcel Koller’s tutelage last season when he put in a string of goal-scoring displays in the Swiss Super League. He scored 21 goals and grabbed 11 assists in 43 appearances for Basel in the previous campaign.
The 22-year-old has also made an excellent start to this season after finding the back of the net twice while providing two assists in three matches for the Swiss outfit so far.
Ajeti has played for his nation at various youth levels and is currently an important member of the Switzerland national team. He has managed to represent his country in seven international matches and has scored one goal for them thus far.
What Will The Swiss Forward Bring To The London Stadium?
Ajeti is moderately paced and can make penetrative runs with the ball in the opposition half. He also added a lot of goals and assists to his game last season, but the jury is still out on whether he can continue his rich vein of form in the English top-flight.
The European centre-forward will undeniably add another dimension to the West Ham attack and has the potential to form a fruitful partnership with Sebastian Haller at the London Stadium. He will be an ideal fit for Manuel Pellegrini’s attacking brand of football at the East London club. However, there are still some question marks over his ability to cope with the physical nature and high intensity of English football.
