West Ham prepared to break the bank to hijack Premier League rivals Ricardo Pepi transfer
West Ham are still eyeing attacking reinforcements and could hijack a deal for PSV forward Ricardo Pepi.
Taty Castellanos and Pablo joined earlier in the window, and young winger Keiber Lamadrid has also been added to West Ham’s squad.
However, it appears that Nuno Espirito Santo still wants fresh options in the final third, as a potential bid for Pepi comes to light.
Some may say that the London Stadium side should be targeting defensive additions, but it seems like they want to outscore the opposition and try to stay up that way.
West Ham set to sign another striker?
West Ham have already added two strikers this month, but they could be set to hijack a Premier League rival’s transfer to sign another one.
A report from Spanish outfit AS on 26 January states that a £27million offer is on the table from Fulham, and they are close to an agreement with the American’s current club.
However, it states that the Hammers are eyeing a last-minute swoop for the 23-year-old, who is a long-term target, and are prepared to break the bank.
Nuno has set his stall for West Ham survival strategy
Clearly, Nuno believes that his side will stay up by scoring more goals than the opposition.
That is a risky strategy as it could lead to them conceding more goals if they do not strengthen the defence in the winter transfer window.
The East London club have conceded the most goals in the division, with 45 allowed in 23 matches so far this season.
| Position | Played | GD | Points |
| 16. Leeds | 23 | -7 | 25 |
| 17. Nottingham Forest | 23 | -11 | 25 |
| 18. West Ham | 23 | -18 | 20 |
| 19. Burnley | 23 | -19 | 15 |
| 20. Wolves | 23 | -28 | 8 |
If they sign Pepi for nearly £30m, that would take their spending to around the £75m mark, and surely not leave much room for defensive additions in the rest of the window.
The management clearly believes that attack is the best form of defense, and if such a risky move pays off, then it will be worth it.
The E20 outfit cannot afford to be relegated to the Championship, as that would come with horrendous financial consequences for starters, and it is hard to come straight back up from the second-tier.
They are putting all their eggs in one basket, a very attacking one at that, and at the moment, with two wins in the last two, is looks like it is working.
Stay up to date this winter with our West Ham transfer tracker. Click to see every done deal at the London Stadium, plus expert reaction from our team of writers.