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Highlights
- West Ham United’s manager and technical director have conflicting opinions on which striker to sign this summer, with David Moyes favoring Divock Origi and Tim Steidten preferring Elye Wahi.
- West Ham has had a disappointing transfer window so far but is expected to complete the signing of Edson Alvarez, which will significantly improve their midfield.
- The sale of Gianluca Scamacca means West Ham needs to sign another forward, but there is a debate on whether to go for Wahi or Origi. However, based on their performances last season, Wahi is the superior choice.
West Ham United manager David Moyes and Technical director Tim Steidten have a “massive difference of opinion” on which striker should replace Gianluca Scamacca this summer, with the former favouring Divock Origi and the latter Elye Wahi, per transfer insider Graeme Baily.
Are West Ham United signing a striker this summer?
The Hammers have had something of an underwhelming transfer window so far this summer. After selling their talismanic club captain Declan Rice to Arsenal for £105m, there was an expectation that they would start to splash the cash to replace his output – so far, this hasn’t happened.
It’s not all doom and gloom, however, as the side does look set to complete the £35m signing of Mexico international and Ajax star Edson Alvarez in the coming days, a player that is sure to improve their depleted midfield substantially for the coming season.
That said, the sale of Italian striker Scamacca to Serie A side Atalanta means that the East Londoners are going to need to sign another forward option before the window slams shut on September 1st, but there is a significant “difference of opinion” on who the club should target as their new number nine, per Graeme Bailey.
He explained the situation on the Talking Transfers podcast, saying:
“We’ve seen Scamacca go, but there’s a massive difference of opinion between which striker should come in. Elye Wahi is the option for Tim Steidten from Montpellier, who most West Ham fans would love to come in. One of the best young strikers in Europe.
“But our understanding is that David Moyes quite likes Divok Origi, the former Liverpool striker at AC Milan and that just sums up the two camps perfectly.”
Which striker should West Ham sign?
There is no doubt that with Scamacca on his way out of the club, the Irons need to make sure that they sign at least one forward before September, regardless of which one they pick to avoid being perilously under equipped in that area, but which one of the two would be the better option?
Well, when it comes to comparing their performances last year, there is really no competition at all. The Montpellier man had an outstanding campaign for the Ligue 1 outfit, and in his 33 league appearances, he scored 19 goals, provided five assists and maintained an average match rating of 6.87, per WhoScored.
On the other hand, the Belgian managed to score just two goals, provided one assist and averaged a somewhat underwhelming match rating of 6.32 across his 27 Serie A appearances, also per WhoScored.
Comparing the pair directly using FBref only makes it more apparent that Wahi is the superior striker, with the “powerful” youngster creating 0.44 expected goals per 90 compared to the former Liverpool man’s paltry 0.18.
One area the £84,000-a-week man beats out the French under-21s star is in shots per 90, registering 2.54 to his 2.22. However, even that is misleading as it’s the 19-year-old who registers more shots on target at 1.29 per 90 to the 28-year-old’s 1.05.
Ultimately, if it comes to picking one of these two strikers to lead the line for West Ham for the foreseeable future, it would be a seriously poor decision to opt for Origi, regardless of the big games he has helped the Reds win over the years.