Graham Potter could ‘fail’ as ‘Embarrassing’ West Ham verdict shared
Graham Potter will fail at West Ham United if the Hammers don’t solve their “embarrassing” recruitment problems, according to Ian Ladyman.
The Hammers are looking to be active in the winter transfer market to recruit a new centre forward [Sam Whetstone] after summer signing Niclas Fullkrug sustained another injury in the 2-1 loss against Aston Villa (10 January) and will be sidelined for three months.
However, the Irons have a torrid track record when signing strikers, as Ladyman pointed out in his Daily Mail column (17 January, pg75), and the reporter believes Potter will be a failure in East London should the glaring issues not be rectified.
Writing: “All clubs make mistakes but this trail of poor judgement endures. West Ham have signed some decent players in recent times but not enough of them, and up front they are so far in the red it’s embarrassing.
“West Ham have just hired a good manager but without more consistent and measured recruitment to support him, Graham Potter will fail.”
West Ham United have to sign the right striker
Ladyman has hit the nail on the head.
Ever since news emerged that West Ham tried and failed in a bid to sign Aston Villa star Jhon Duran, a scattergun approach has been adopted at the London Stadium.
So many names have since been linked with a move to East London, with some, such as Marcus Rashford, somewhat unrealistic and others, such as RB Leipzig forward Andre Silva, particularly underwhelming.
Furthermore, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano (15 January) reported the Hammers’ interest in Celtic youth sensation Daniel Cummings and while he is an exciting prospect, Potter needs a forward ready to make an immediate impact.
The only bright side for the Irons supporters is the remaining transfer budget leaves little room for another major big-money misfire – Sebastian Haller for £45 million, Gianluca Scamacca for £30m and even Fullkrug for £27m – embarrassing is an understatement.
While Haller and Scamacca have since gone on to enjoy relative success, particularly the latter, who lifted the Europa League with Atalanta last term, neither produced the desired form in East London worthy of constituting the high fee spent on their services.
There is still plenty of time until the window slams shut on 3 February for Potter to find the ideal forward to lead his frontline, but he cannot afford to make the wrong decision.
In other West Ham news, the Irons are involved in a James McAtee transfer twist as the Man City door opens.
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