West Ham face transfer ‘straightjacket’ as £40m Mitrovic details emerge
West Ham United could sign Aleksandar Mitrovic to solve their striking woes.
The London Stadium outfit have been notorious in recent years for signing strikers who fail to make the desired impact.
The latest example at West Ham is Niclas Fullkrug, who was signed from Borussia Dortmund last summer but registered just three goals and two assists in his first Premier League season.
West Ham to solve striking issues with Mitrovic
A report from talkSPORT (2 June) claimed that West Ham were interested in a £40million swoop for Mitrovic, who was a reliable goalscorer at Fulham before moving to Al-Hilal.
Iconic commentator and Premier League expert Ian Darke believes that the Irons would be spending too much on the 30-year-old if they could not reduced that fee, but that it would be a solid move.
Speaking to West Ham Zone, he said: “Not at £40million, that is a bit steep.
“He is pretty much guaranteed to get you over 10 goals I would say, somewhere between 10 and 15.
“Michail Antonio is probably not going to play anymore after his car crash, or certainly not at the same level, there is decisions being taken about that.
“Fullkrug, it just hasn’t worked out. I still think he could have done, or would have done, but they may have made a decision there.
“They need a proper number nine to come in, then they can play Bowen off the right-hand side and that is where they look more potent.
“The fee is a bit on the steep side at £40m, he does limit the way you play because he doesn’t have any pace, he can’t run, he is just an out-and-out goalscorer, who hangs around the box, very good in the air, not a bad target man but he is not going to be able to run in-behind or anything like that.
“There is a bit of a tactical straightjacket that comes with it, if you have Mitrovic upfront, but his stats are really good.”
Potter desperate for attackers at West Ham amid Mitrovic news
Mitrovic would be a gamble and would restrict the way that the East London side would play, but it could be a great signing for Graham Potter.
The ex-Brighton man is under significant pressure after a poor run of results to start his reign and an attacker is definitely on the list of targets.
The Serbian has proven himself in the top-flight in England, with 38 goals and 11 assists in 129 appearances and would help to get Potter out of the situation that he finds himself in, but he may only be a short-term fix due to his age.
Sign up for the West Ham Zone WhatsApp channel and turn on notifications to have all the latest, breaking West Ham United news sent straight to your phone.