WHZ View: West Ham dodged a bullet by not signing Duvan Zapata in January
When the January transfer window slammed shut and there were no fresh faces at West Ham, the mood among fans turned sour quite quickly.
Fans were desperate for a new striker to come in and offer competition and depth for Michail Antonio, while a central defender would have been an added bonus too following injury to Angelo Ogbonna.
As the deadline passed, reports suggested that the Hammers in fact failed with a deadline-busting deal for Atalanta striker Duvan Zapata on loan [Athletic] when the Serie A club stopped replying [ExWHU Employee].
It seems now though a couple of weeks on that it may have been for the best that David Moyes didn’t get that deal over the line.
According to reports in Italy, as shared by journalist Toby Cudworth, Zapata is suffering from an adductor injury that may require surgery and see him miss the rest of the season.
What a disaster that would’ve been
Zapata undoubtedly has all the attributes to be a star in the Premier League and with West Ham.
He’s big and strong, exceptionally quick, excellent with his back to goal, a good finisher with both feet and his head and also likes to run the channels.
But if he’s not fit and available to play, then absolutely none of that matters.
Moyes claimed after the window closed that there were no better options out there to sign as cover for Antonio than Jarrod Bowen, who currently plays on the wing or as the striker when Antonio isn’t available.
He’s probably right, in the sense that Bowen is always fit and already knows the system and league.
A natural striker is definitely something the club need to invest in during the summer window, and whether they come in to start ahead of Antonio or compete with him remains to be seen.
But one thing is for sure is that the Hammers have been proven right when it comes to the Colombian striker.
Yes, it may have been by pure chance that they didn’t sign him, but the fact is they didn’t and that has now been justified.
For once the footballing God’s and transfer wizards were shining down on the Hammers and helped them out by not giving them a new shiny striker to play with.
Fans are likely to be grateful considering the news now, and it’ll teach us all not to complain too early in future.
Just imagine the anger had the club signed a crock in a deal that only appeared right at the end, thus seeming like a panic buy.
In other West Ham news, Journalist compares West Ham transfer saga to Harry Kane after summer fallout at Spurs