By Daniel Feliciano

4th Jun, 2022 | 4:44pm

Armando Broja is a gamble for West Ham United but one worth taking

West Ham need a striker and David Moyes wants a striker during this summer transfer window, that much isn’t up for debate, but who that person is remains unknown.

The Hammers have been linked with several different strikers over the most recent windows and while nobody has come in since Sebastian Haller’s exit to Ajax back in January 2021.

But it seems as though the club have now settled on a top target, as Albanian international Armando Broja continues to be linked with the club after his loan spell at Southampton.

Chelsea are said to be keen on keeping hold of him and taking a look at his progress during the pre-season, but Broja will want to play regularly and that means an exit is far more likely than him staying put.

According to ExWHUemployee, the club are set to push ahead with a move for their striker targets this week [Patreon] and Broja is on that list of targets.

Reports suggest that the blues will want at least £25m to part ways with him, and while that could be a bargain if the player is able to hit the ground running and show how good he is, it still represents a gamble.

Broja showed in spurts that he has got bags of talent and at one point scored three goals in six games to help the Saints claim draws against Brighton and Crystal Palace as well as a big win over Brentford.

But outside of those three goals, he only hit the net on three more occasions in the Premier League last season as he started 21 games and made a further 11 appearances from the substitutes bench.

One of the main issues the Hammers had last season was the fact they couldn’t rely on Michail Antonio to hit the back of the net regularly.

At one point the Jamaica international went 14 Premier League games without scoring between New Year’s Day and May 8th, in the penultimate game of the season.

Broja himself didn’t score in any of his final 13 appearances in the Premier League for Southampton, with his last goal coming against Tottenham back in February.

Obviously there is a big age and experience discrepancy between Antonio and Broja, with one heading for an upwards trajectory and the other entering the twilight of his career.

But for what the club need right now, there is no doubting that Broja is a massive gamble. He doesn’t guarantee goals like the Hammers need and for a big chunk of the budget, that’s a risk.

However with the current striker options out there in the market, it’s a gamble the club must make.

Not signing a forward at all is asking for trouble, and spending more money on someone else simply brings a bigger risk.

If Moyes has identified Broja as the main man to take the club forward, then the club must do all they can to get a deal done.

In other West Ham news, the Hammers have postponed contract talks with two key men

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