In a recent report, The Daily Mirror has revealed that West Ham United prefer Bournemouth forward Joshua King over Brentford’s Said Benrahma ahead of the domestic transfer deadline on Friday. It is believed that the Hammers are planning to seal a move for the Cherries attacker after their efforts to sign Benrahma this month came to a standstill (via The Daily Mirror).
King’s Lacklustre Season At The Vitality Stadium
King had a difficult season at the south coast of England after he struggled to discover consistency as far as his productivity was concerned in front of the opposition goal. The Norwegian attacker scored six goals and secured four assists in 27 appearances for the Cherries in the previous campaign in various competitions.
However, the 28-year-old showed some promise by averaging 1.0 shots, 1.2 key passes and 2.0 dribbles per 90 minutes in the 2019-20 Premier League season. Still, his ball-distribution has got a lot of room for improvement as he made only 72.3% of his attempted passes in the English first division (stats via whoscored).
King’s offensive contributions weren’t enough to keep Bournemouth in the English top-flight. Now that the Norwegian international is an EFL Championship player, he will be desperate to seal a return back to the top-level but might struggle to earn regular game time at West Ham which could derail his career even further.
What Are The Cherries Forward’s Best Attributes?
King is a devastatingly quick striker who loves to get past his marker using his speed and dribbling ability in the attacking third. When he is firing on all cylinders, he can be a joy to watch as he has got the confidence to step up and come up with a classy finish inside the opposition penalty area.
The 50-capped Norwegian international is also proficient at converting penalties but struggles to find consistency in terms of his goal-scoring at the highest level. Even then, he has what it takes to serve as a decent squad player at the London Stadium if Moyes manages to get a deal done for him before Friday’s domestic transfer deadline.
Is King The Right Choice For The Hammers This Month?
King has got the pace and finishing instincts to be a grand success at the East London club. He will also bolster West Ham’s attacking options significantly in the coming seasons. Furthermore, he will increase competition for the likes of Michail Antonio and Sebastien Haller. Thus, Moyes should not waste any more time in engineering a move to land King this month.
Even though the Norwegian is not as prolific as Benrahma, yet he has got prior Premier League experience which could make him the safer option for the Londoners right now. With all things considered, the Bournemouth speedster will be a great fit for the Hammers as he could help them compete for a European place in the Premier League this season.
