In a recent report, The Sun mentioned that West Ham United are hoping to land Clermont forward Mohamed Bayo in January. It is understood that the Hammers have identified the French striker as a perfect option to add some cover for Michail Antonio at the London Stadium.
Bayo’s Impressive Start To This Ligue 1 Campaign
The 23-year-old has made an impressive start to this campaign as he has already put in a handful of eye-catching displays as the focal point of Clermont’s attack. Bayo has banged in three goals and grabbed two assists in six appearances for the French side this season on all fronts.
The Clermont-Ferrand-born sensation has proven his worth to be a consistent performer by averaging 3.0 shots, 1.2 key passes and 0.8 dribbles per 90 minutes in Ligue 1. However, he should focus on improving his accuracy when distributing possession to his teammates in the final third, as evidenced by his pass completion rate of 75.7% in league football (stats via whoscored).
At 23, Bayo has still got a lot of room for improvement in his game, so West Ham boss David Moyes will fancy helping him get better in the future if he can get the talented striker on board during the winter transfer window.
What Will The French Marksman Add To David Moyes’ Team?
Bayo has decent pace in his locker and can complete some exciting dribbles with the ball in the opposition half. He has developed a healthy habit of generating a yard of space for himself to get a few shots in on-target, similar to how Antonio operates at West Ham.
The French forward is slowly but surely transforming himself into a capable finisher in front of the opponent’s goal. However, as mentioned earlier, he needs to work on improving his link-up play if he wants to be a success story in English football. Furthermore, there are some concerns over whether he would be able to cope with the physical nature of Premier League football if the Hammers are successful in their pursuit of Bayo this January.
We can expect the Clermont star to add some goals and creativity to Moyes’ frontline. More importantly, he will serve as a good deputy to Antonio and could even learn a thing or two from the in-form English forward. Bayo is primarily a centre-forward but can also fill in as a winger on either flank if needed. Thus, the East London outfit would be wise to orchestrate a move to secure the services of the versatile French attacker when the transfer window commences at the start of next year.
