West Ham told to pay £17m for Paul Onuachu

West Ham have been told to pay £17million to sign Genk striker Paul Onuachu, according to a report from The Athletic.

They claim West Ham’s “need to draft in a forward” has seen the club look at the giant Nigerian striker who scored a staggering 35 goals last season.

However, the report states that David Moyes would perhaps be more interested in a similar striker to Michail Antonio rather than a “target man”, which is what Onuachu is deemed to be.

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Will West Ham sign Onuachu?

Genk are currently trying to reach the group stages of the Champions League, and the 27-year-old has already continued where he left off last season and has scored two goals in four appearances.

His goal record is incredible, and though he has never played in a top European league, he would surely be worth a punt at just £17million?

Bringing in Onuachu would allow Moyes to rotate him with Antonio or play them together upfront. So there would be plenty of options available to the Scotsman should he decide Onuachu is the man for him.

West Ham

He also has ten caps for Nigeria and has scored three goals for his country, and his form last season earned him the Ebony Shoe, awarded to the best African player or player of African descent in Belgium [BBC].

So there are a lot of things going for the huge striker, and while there was a report recently claiming that the Hammers are out of the race, that doesn’t appear to be the case judging by this report [Own Goal Nigeria].

Therefore, the Irons could and should be all over this deal.

In other West Ham news, the Hammers are closing in on a transfer deal for a Europa League winner.

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