Exclusive: McAvennie expresses caution over reported West Ham hunt for En-Nesyri
We’re delighted to welcome former West Ham United striker Frank McAvennie as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the London Stadium…
West Ham would be taking a risk they do not need to take if they sign Sevilla forward Youssef En-Nesyri, according to Frank McAvennie.
Last week, The Athletic reported that West Ham made a bid worth £22.5million, plus an extra £4.5million in add-ons, for the 23-year-old Morocco international.
It is understood that bid was rejected by Sevilla and Athletic journalist David Ornstein has since reported that the Irons’ swoop to land En-Nesyri is “all-but over“.
McAvennie would rather see David Moyes explore striker options who have Premier League experience if the Hammers are going to try and spend so much money on a player like En-Nesyri.
He belives Southampton’s Danny Ings and Bournemouth’s Joshua King could represent less of a risk for the East London club.
“I don’t know what the situation is with [En-Nesyri] but I’d be going with a striker who’s proven in the Premier League,” McAvennie told West Ham Zone.
“Listen, the boy might come up, hit the ground running and be a superstar but it’s a gamble that West Ham don’t really need to take.
“They could go for Ings, someone like that, or I like the boy at Bournemouth, Josh King. They’ve done it [in the Premier League].”
After seeing so many strikers come and go at West Ham while David Sullivan and David Gold have been in charge, it’s no surprise that McAvennie is cautious about centre-forwards who are being linked with a move to the London Stadium.
Based on the numbers, En-Nesyri could be a hit at West Ham because he’s still relatively young at the age of 23 and has been bang in form in La Liga this season.
The former Leganes striker has netted 16 times in 27 appearances across all competitions for Sevilla this term, with 12 of those goals coming in the league.
On Saturday, the Moroccan scored his second hat-trick in four games as Sevilla won 3-0 against Cadiz to move above Barcelona and into third place in La Liga.
En-Nesyri is clearly a good striker in Spain but could he do that in England?
It’s a big question and one that McAvennie doesn’t want to know the answer to when there are proven Premier League forwards out there.
In other West Ham news, Alan Irvine was thrilled with the “professional” performance against Doncaster.