West Ham wowed by one of Frank Lampard’s favourite players as January deal lined up
West Ham have reportedly looked into signing Coventry City striker Haji Wright ahead of the January transfer window.
Wright, 27, has been in great form at Coventry this season, scoring nine goals in 16 appearances across all competitions and helping Frank Lampard‘s side reach the top of the Championship table after 15 games.
West Ham are in the hunt to sign a new striker in January.
Niclas Fullkrug has submitted a transfer request to leave the London Stadium, but the Hammers have been devoid of a talented, outright centre-forward for what seems like an eternity.
Coventry’s Wright is now being looked at as an option. However, a mid-season deal could be problematic for the Irons.
West Ham explore Haji Wright deal in January
West Ham’s form has improved lately, but serious relegation fears remain, meaning the January transfer window could be a huge one for David Sullivan and co.
According to ExWHUEmployee on the West Ham Way website, Wright has impressed the East London club’s recruitment staff, but it’ll be “difficult” to pry him away from the CBS Arena with Coventry fighting for promotion to the Premier League.
It is understood that West Ham are “eager” to sign a new striker who’s already based in England and has a “proven” record in front of goal.
- Wright joined Coventry from Turkish side Antalyaspor for a club-record fee in August 2023.
- He reportedly cost the Sky Blues £7.7million.
- The LA-born striker has 19 caps and seven goals for the USA
- He’s 27 years old and has represented seven different teams in senior football in his career.
Due to limited options that tick both of those boxes, it is understood there’s a chance the Hammers will scour the markets abroad.
While Wright falls into the middle of Nuno Espirito Santo‘s Venn diagram for being domestic-based and in strong form, it remains to be seen whether or not he’ll be able to tear it up in the Premier League in the same manner he has done in the Championship for Coventry.
He’s played in four top-tier leagues in Europe – the Danish Superliga, German Bundesliga, Dutch Eredivisie and Turkish Super Lig – with mixed success.
Coventry has been a different story, though, with Wright netting 40 times and supplying 11 assists in 97 total appearances since joining them in the summer of 2023.
What Frank Lampard has said about Haji Wright at Coventry
Wright was in fine form last season for Coventry, scoring 12 times in 27 regular league appearances before the Midlands club were beaten in the play-offs.
He missed a good chunk of the campaign with an ankle injury but returned to goalscoring form with a hat-trick against eventual play-off winners Sunderland in March.
After that game, ex-West Ham midfielder Lampard, who’s doing well as Coventry’s manager, said: “Three goals, a constant problem, great quality finishing and great movement.
“He won headers and went physically toe-to-toe with defenders and his work ethic off the ball was great.
“As long as he gets his off-the-ball work and transition work right, which he did today, I’m happy. He can play like that, he can run into space, he can hold it up and he can move with it, so yes, I loved his performance.”
Lampard’s praise has continued into this season, too. In August, he said: “Haji is a big player for us. He came on having progressed really well with his injury.
“He’s really keen, he’s in really good form, very positive and we were pleased to be able to give him some minutes.“
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