With a little over six weeks to go before the commencement of that brief burst of activity known as the January transfer window, clubs stranded near the foot of the league start looking for ‘magic bullets’ to help haul their sides up the table towards safety.
West Ham need a front man – of that there is no doubt – whether or not Niclas Fullkrug departs. The German striker has a brilliant attitude but has no place in the starting eleven of the world’s most physical league – his legs just won’t hack it.
Whether the solution to West Ham’s striker problem is, as claimed by sportwitness.co.uk, to be found in the Brazilian league, is something of a head scratcher. Their headline:
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“West Ham, Leeds United and Bournemouth make contact for Brazilian winger’
Suggests that the 25 year old forward in question would be a useful addition as:“His versatility allows him to play on both wings or even in a central role.”
Flamengo’s Gonzalo Plata
The problem is that the forward in question, Gonzalo Plata, Ecuadorian playing in the Brazilian top tier with Lucas Paquetá’s old side Flamengo, is getting something of a bad boy reputation.
Sportwitness suggest:“Reports that Flamengo’s board feel increasingly frustrated with Plata’s behaviour, especially after he went to a nightclub days before crucial matches. The club now intend to hear offers in the January 2026 transfer window.”
Add into the mix three red cards in recent weeks and something of a hot head off the pitch. Sounds like a problem looking for a way out and exactly what the Hammers do not need just now.
In any case his favoured position is Jarrod Bowens’ right wing slot.
So you’d hope common sense would prevail and there’d be little chance that the Hammers would follow through with their ‘interest’.
Nuno needs a striker and a centre half rather than creating another Kudus-like situation with a left footed right winger being square-pegged into a round hole elsewhere in West Ham’s front line.
We’ve had enough of that for a while. It didn’t work with Mohammed Kudus so recruiting Gonzalo Plata would seem to shout ‘trouble’ on many levels. One to avoid.