talkSPORT pundit Darren Bent urges ‘desperate’ West Ham United to poach Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth
Darren Bent says West Ham are in “desperate” need of a striker and should consider a move for Bournemouth ace Dominic Solanke.
Michail Antonio is sidelined with a knee injury, leaving Danny Ings and unproven teenager Divin Mubama as United’s only centre-forward options.
Solanke has been in fine form for Premier League rivals Bournemouth this season, meanwhile, and Bent believes a United move makes sense.
“West Ham’s the one I look at and think they’re desperate for a striker,” he said on talkSPORT [6 December, 18:46]. “That’d be the obvious link.”
Worth considering
It says it all that David Moyes decided against calling upon either Ings or Mubama from the substitutes’ bench when United were chasing a goal in their 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace at the weekend.
Instead, he opted to use Jarrod Bowen – just returning from a lay-off of his own – for the full 90 minutes at London Stadium as a makeshift centre-forward.
There is no doubt that a striker who knows how to find the net has to be a priority for West Ham either in the January window or at the end of the season.
Plenty of names have been bandied about – some more realistic than others – and Solanke is a good shout, even if it would leave some supporters underwhelmed.
Solanke has scored seven goals in 14 Premier League matches this season while also assisting another.
That, remember, has come in a Bournemouth side with less attacking talents than Moyes has at his disposal.
One sticking point would be the transfer fee, as the Englishman still has three-and-a-half years to run on his current contract at the Vitality Stadium.
If United are serious about pushing on in the second half of the season, though, then it is certainly a move worth considering.
In other West Ham news, Chris Sutton has dropped a “not convinced” verdict in his prediction for United’s showdown with Tottenham.