West Ham United’s season couldn’t get any worse than this (you’ve gotta think of relegation, though!). After they were ousted quite convincingly by Manchester United in the mid-week EFL cup fixture, they were inflicted with another heavy defeat at the hands of Arsenal. Slaven Bilic might get only this season to save his position at the club and he is desperately looking for new recruitments coming January.
The greatest concern for the Hammers have been the forward position. The current set has failed to make their chances count and pressurise opponents, which has led the team to recover most of the times. Bilic’s search has led to many forwards getting linked with the club and the latest one has been Newcastle United’s Aleksandar Mitrovic.
As per reports, the 22-year-old Serbian has been one of Bilic’s prime targets and if by chance the Hammers fail in their bid to sign Daniel Sturridge, Mitrovic will be their preferred target. West Ham are likely to offload Simone Zaza this winter after the Italian fared terribly in his first season on loan in the Premier League.
Bilic is forced to play young Ashley Fletcher and Andre Ayew up front at the moment. Although Andy Carroll returned in their last match against Arsenal, he can’t be trusted considering his injury record.
Mitrovic has scored three goals this season and has registered two assists in 7 appearances for Newcastle. He has a shot accuracy of 44% as well and after developing himself in the Championship, he could have a better spell in the top flight of England after underwhelming performances last season at Tyneside.
At 189 cm, the striker has been impactful in front of the goal this season and his headed attempts have been lethal. He is brilliant from indirect set-pieces and likes to chase defenders, which makes him a standout performer in the Newcastle United squad. His positioning in and around the D-box has been commendable and with players like Payet and Lanzini behind him to provide the ball, he could reach an entirely differently level.
However, his major weakness is his discipline up front. He has often been casual at times and has been criticised for being over-ambitious. Another possible problem could be his speciality in only one position.
Mitrovic is not quite adept in long passes and crossing from flanks, which limits him to more of a centre-forward figure. He lacks versatility. However, West Ham’s forward line is terribly crippled at the moment and an in-form forward like Mitrovic, despite his inexperience at the top level, would be more than a good option for Bilic.
