West Ham handed massive blow in pursuit of £20m-rated Adam Armstrong – Report
Southampton are leading West Ham in the race to sign Blackburn Rovers centre-forward Adam Armstrong, according to The Daily Express.
The newspaper reports the Saints have stolen a march from the rest of the chasing pack in their pursuit to sign the Blackburn striker.
The Englishman has enjoyed a phenomenal season for the Lancashire outfit – scoring 28 goals in the Championship.
His efforts in front of goal have seen him emerge as a transfer target for the Hammers who are keen on bringing in a proven goalscorer through the door at the London Stadium this summer.
The Express reports Blackburn the player at £20million but they could settle for knocking 20 per cent off and accept £16million as the striker is eager to take the step up and play in the Premier League next season.
Need to act quickly
Southampton leading the race for a player we’re interested in, is certainly not a good sign. We’re undoubtedly better off financially and will offer new signings the chance of playing in Europe.
Also, the Saints have Che Adams and Danny Ings, both of whom have been in good form this season.
Even if they sign Armstrong, he may have to share his minutes with Adams and play a supporting act with Ings.
At West Ham, Armstrong will walk into our playing eleven and will have quality players around him to help wreak havoc.
The likes of Jarrod Bowen, Said Benrahma, Jesse Lingard (if we sign him permanently) and Michail Antonio are all capable of playing in different positions, and signing Armstrong would make our attack more fluid than it already is.
However, the only inhibitions David Moyes could have is the player’s height. At 5ft 8in, he’s not the tallest and thus is virtually a non-existent aerial threat. We know Moyes likes his strikers to be tall and physical as he likes his full-backs to deliver crosses into the box now and then.
That said, we’re hoping that if the club pass up on Armstrong they have a better option in mind that they’re confident of signing.
In other West Ham news, Hammers ready to sell defender after huge development – ExWHUEmployee
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