West Ham in pursuit of Aston Villa forward Anwar El Ghazi
West Ham are in the hunt to sign Aston Villa forward Anwar El Ghazi this month, according to the Mail On Sunday.
The newspaper reports via their print edition [2 January, page 141] that David Moyes wants to strengthen his defence and forward options before the January transfer window closes.
It is understood that the Irons “like” numerous players and Villa’s El Ghazi, 26, is one of them.
Premier League knowhow
El Ghazi has been in and out of the Villa first-team this season with the Dutch forward playing 11 times in all competitions.
He’s scored three goals in those appearances, which have mainly come on the left wing, with his only Premier League goal coming versus Newcastle in August.
According to The Athletic, if Villa cash in on El Ghazi this month, they’re unlikely to recoup the money that they paid for him.
In June 2019, Villa paid £8million to sign the 26-year-old attacker, who’s been capped twice by the Netherlands, from Lille [Guardian].
That means that El Ghazi could be a rather cheap addition to Moyes’ attack – but do we really need another new left-winger?
There are other areas of the squad that need to be strengthened first, especially the defence due to the injury crisis Moyes is facing there.
But El Ghazi is someone who knows the Premier League, who Dean Smith called “one hell of a player” in 2021 [Birmingham Mail].
We’d take him – but only if other signings are made first.
In other West Ham news, a pundit is happy to see the Irons eyeing a “brilliant” £40million swoop for this striker.
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