West Ham United have ‘keen interest’ in 19-goal Venezia striker Joel Pohjanpalo
West Ham have a “keen interest” in Venezia and Finland striker Joel Pohjanpalo, according to La Nuova Venezia.
The 28-year-old, who has previously played for Bayer Leverkusen, scored 19 goals from his 37 Serie B appearances this season.
The forward has 61 appearances for the Finland national team, having made his debut back in 2021.
“For Pohjanpalo there would be keen interest from West Ham fresh from their recent success in the UEFA Conference League final with Fiorentina,” according to La Nuova Venezia.
The report added that “a striker with characteristics such as those possessed by Pohjanpalo would be useful for David Moyes’s team who currently have only the 33-year-old Jamaican player Michail Antonio in their squad as first striker.”
Useful option
Perhaps putting West Ham fans off is the fact that Pohjanpalo hit his tally of 19 goals in the Italian second division, with many supporters perhaps set to be quick to point out that Gianluca Scamacca couldn’t make it in East London, and he was signed from Serie A club Sassuolo.
But it is true that the Hammers need attacking reinforcements for various reasons, the first of which is the pressure they will face when trying to fight on all fronts next season.
The English side found that out the hard way in the most recent Premier League campaign, where they found themselves under huge pressure to stay in the division amid their exciting European adventure.
The second and perhaps more urgent issue is that current striker Scamacca could leave East London this summer after just one year in claret and blue, while there is no guarantee that Antonio will be at the club next season.