Jack Wilshere confirms he’s eager to seal permanent West Ham signing
Jack Wilshere has confirmed he is now looking to complete a permanent deal to sign Gideon Kodua from West Ham.
The 21-year-old forward has been in excellent form on loan at Luton Town of late, netting his seventh league goal of the season in the 3-0 win over Leyton Orient on Monday night.
Kodua has a permanent option in his deal between West Ham and Luton, having joined at the start of the campaign off the back of a loan at Wycombe last term.
He also netted twice in a 4-0 win over his former side on Friday, taking his tally in League One this term to seven, including four during December.
Wilshere wants to complete Gideon Kodua move
Kodua, who hasn’t made a senior appearance at West Ham, has a total of eight goals and three assists across all competitions this season and is now in line to complete a permanent switch after manager Wilshere‘s latest comments.
The former Irons midfielder, who is in his first permanent role as a number one following an interim stint at Norwich, was asked about Kodua’s future and whether he would be signed permanently.
He said: “Yes, for sure, that is in my opinion a really good signing with a really good option in it. He’s stepped up and I always think that’s a bit of pressure as well for a young player to come, because from the club’s point of view, it’s almost like a trial. He’s taken it so I think yes, for sure (we want to sign him).
“For a young player, I know this is his second loan and he probably didn’t play as much as he wanted last year, but I feel like he’s really found a home here. The players love him, the staff love him, he wants to get better.
“He’s a guy who’s coming knocking on the coaches door to go through clips and that’s what you get, you get improvement. It gives you a little bit more confidence and he always looks a threat I think.”
Kodua exit another blow to West Ham fans
Given the deepening struggles in the senior set up and the years-long failure to sign adequate goal scorers the answer might lie in bringing talented youngsters through internally.
And Kodua has impressed West Ham observers, so if he departs permanently without ever featuring for the first team it will be another possible hope for the supporters lost.
The former FA Youth Cup-winning captain now looks set to follow the likes of Divin Mubama out after he joined Man City two summers ago, while the Irons continue to spend money on strikers that don’t work out, with Niclas Fullkrug just sent on loan to AC Milan.
Granted, Kodua didn’t explode on loan at Wycombe to make a step up from League One the obvious next move, having only scored three goals for them.
But he has clearly improved this term for Wilshere to be convinced already so may have been developing slightly slower than others.
Whether there is scope for a buy-back to be included in his exit, should it be completed, remains to be seen, but if he is on an upward trajectory that would surely be sensible when West Ham need to try everything they can to finally answer their questions up front.
Enjoyed this article? Stay connected with all the latest West Ham United news, updates, and behind-the-scenes content by following us on our new Instagram account – @westhamzone247