West Ham United could be looking to sign a new striker in the January transfer window.
The Hammers spent over £120 million in the summer window to bring in nine new players, but they have not achieved the desired results.
West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui retains the support of the club hierarchy, but the results need to improve.
According to a report from the Sunday Mirror (page 72), West Ham are showing keen interest in signing Botafogo striker Igor Jesus in the January window.
The 23-year-old “exciting” striker has scored eight goals for Botafogo this season in all competitions, and he has played four times for Brazil already.
After plying the trade of the Saudi Pro-League club Shadab Al-Ahli for four years, he returned to Brazil in the summer window, signing a permanent deal with Botafogo.
Tim Steidten now wants to sign Jesus, who is widely regarded as one of his “nation’s best attacking” prospects.
Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor is a shareholder at Botafogo, and he claimed recently that West Ham were one of the clubs the player has held talks with. But the player is currently focused on the Brazilian championship.
West Ham’s eternal problem of signing strikers
The Hammers have badly struggled to recruit proper strikers over the years.
Michail Antonio has carried the onerous burden of playing as a lone striker over the years.
West Ham spent big money on Gianluca Scamacca, and he turned out to be a massive flop. The club sold the Italian the following summer.
Danny Ings joined from Aston Villa with a big reputation for being a lethal goalscorer, but he has not been able to find his best form for the club.
This summer, West Ham spent £27 million to sign German forward Niclas Fullkrug. He has only featured three times in the Premier League since his move from Borussia Dortmund, mainly due to injury.
It won’t be easy to lure Jesus away from Brazil. West Ham reportedly could need to pay around £30m to secure his services.
West Ham are 14th in the league table with 15 points from 13 games.