According to Calciomercato, West Ham United are set to compete with Southampton to sign striker Kasper Dolberg from Ajax. The Danish forward has made a name for himself with a number of stellar performances for the Eredivisie outfit and has attracted the attention of the Premier League clubs.
West Ham United have quite a few forwards in their ranks including the likes of Marko Arnautovic, Lucas Perez and Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez. However, barring Arnautovic, neither of the other two forwards have been able to make an impact with their performances in the Premier League since their arrival at the club (notwithstanding Chicharito’s ‘hand goal’ last night). Same is the case with the injury-prone Andy Carroll.
This is where the need of bringing in a new attacker comes into play, and Dolberg could turn out to be the perfect inclusion to the West Ham lineup. His pace and ability to score goals from a variety of ranges can come handy for Manuel Pellegrini’s side if the Chilean can land him in the summer transfer window.
The player missed a lot of game time in the last term due to an injury. After he came back into the squad, he has been frequently rotated with the veteran striker Klaus Jan Huntelaar. The player has, however, showed his potential in whatever chances he has had this season so far, scoring nine times in 11 league starts.
The possible departure of Arnautovic had created a ruckus at West Ham United during the January transfer window. The player, however, decided to stay put at the club but in all probability, might be on the move in the next summer transfer window. If this happens, then it would be a major blow for the east London club. In such a scenario, they should look at bringing in someone like Dolberg to save themselves from a crisis in the striking department.
Besides, if the Austrian stays back at the club in the next season as well, then he would need a viable backup to share the bulk of goalscoring. With Chicharito, Perez and Carroll not being able to do justice on most occasions this season, Dolberg can come into the side as a perfect backup for the talisman Arnautovic.
Pellegrini has done well to get his team into the top ten after a poor start to the season. However, he should be well aware of the fact that to keep on performing well in the future, he will need quality players in his squad and the Hammers should go all in to bring Dolberg to the London Stadium next summer.
