West Ham United are reportedly planning to make a move to sign Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee in the upcoming winter transfer window, as per Football Insider.
The Hammers have continued to display dire performances this season, and the situation hasn’t improved despite the arrival of Nuno Espirito Santo as the new manager following Graham Potter’s departure.
The East London club are currently in the relegation zone with four points from eight games, sitting four points behind safety. They have conceded the most goals in the Premier League thus far and have netted only six times.
Nottingham Forest and Wolverhampton Wanderers have scored fewer than Santo’s side, with both teams in the relegation zone along with the East London club.
Now, Football Insider state that West Ham are prioritising signing a new striker in January to address their goal-scoring problems and have identified Zirkzee as a serious option.
Callum Wilson and Niclas Fullkrug are the two CFs West Ham currently have, but the German is set to remain sidelined for several weeks due to an injury. On the other hand, Nuno doesn’t like Wilson and hasn’t played him at all since becoming the new manager last month.
Zirkzee to West Ham
The report claim that the Man Utd star isn’t the only name on West Ham’s wishlist to bolster the frontline, as Chelsea youngster Tyrique George is also on their radar.
Speculation surrounding Zirkzee’s future has started emerging in recent weeks as he has been struggling to find regular game time at Old Trafford, failing to start any game thus far this season.
Zirkzee is valued at around £24m by Transfermarkt and still has four years left in his current contract. So, Man Utd are likely to demand a sizable amount of money to let him leave next year.
The Dutchman, standing at 6ft 4in tall, is a technically gifted player. He is efficient in linking up the play, can dribble past opposition defenders in tight areas, and also works hard without possession.
However, he has scored only three Premier League goals since joining Man Utd from Bologna last year. So, he might not be the ideal option for West Ham to address their goal-scoring problems.