From earlier reports in the Autumn we know that West Ham United are considering looking for talent in the domestic leagues rather than risk the Fullkrug ‘being unable to settle in the UK’ scenario recurring: Several of the signings made in the summer have found it difficult to get upto the speed and fitness required for the English Premier league. Jean Clair Todibo, Guido Rodrigues, Carlos Soler and Fullkrug have all looked short on pace when starting their West Ham career: On the flip side, Wan Bissaka, Summerville and Kilman , who were all recruited domestically, have looked more or less ready to hit the ground running in the Premier League.
So if The Hammers are moving away from automatically working to an ‘overseas is best’ transfer strategy mantra there are distinct advantages.
One such championship player has again cropped up in reports of being linked with a January move. First covered earlier this season, Emmanuel Latte Lath is again linked with West Ham after a report from Italian football outlet tuttomercatoweb.com. (The former Atalanta striker is still of interest in Italy hence the origin of the report). Whilst Middlesborough and boss Michael Carrick would be desperate to hold on to their striker who’s now netted eight times so far this season, West Ham have sent scouts on more than one occasion and have now made an enquiry for the January window, according to the report.
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Ipswich Town tried and failed to transfer him after a £20 million bid in the summer so he will not be of the ‘bargain basement’ variety – but then I wonder if West Ham have learned anything from their Jhon Duran experience that once targeted, they need to pay the going rate to bring their chosen player on board. Rightly or wrongly, if Luis Guilherme was worth over £20 million, a striker who is ‘too good for the championship’ would be a snip at £30 million.
Whether 25 year-old Latte Lath qualifies as a ‘top quality’ striker addition (Gonzo, yesterday) will remain to be seen. I suspect Hammers fans would be underwhelmed if Kudus was sold on to raise cash and Latte Lath was the marquee signing which resulted. Much also depends on Niclas Fullkrug – if he stays at London Stadium then West Ham would need to bolster their attack, not start from scratch. In which case Latte Lath would make a lot of sense.