Fabrizio Romano: West Ham United ‘For Sure’ want to sign striker in 2024 but he will….

Fabrizio Romano has revealed that West Ham will “for sure” look to sign a striker in 2024 but says there is no rush to get a deal done.

The Hammers signed Mohammed Kudus from Ajax after losing Gianluca Scamacca in the summer, and the future of Michail Antonio and Danny Ings are up in the air heading towards the January transfer window.

And writing in his Daily Briefing (4 November), Romano says there is nothing advanced but the club are definitely looking at options to bolster their attack in the new year.

“No clarity on names yet, but West Ham are exploring the market for sure and a new striker could join in 2024,” he said.

“It’s not something advanced as of today, it’s too early. The Hammers are happy with new signings like Kudus and so they’re not in a rush.”

Strength

The fact that West Ham have identified this problem area early is a good sign, because most fans would agree a new number nine should be high up on the priority list in January.

Antonio’s age is beginning to show in his performances despite us recently handing him a new deal, while Ings has never managed to find any form since joining last January and will likely move on this winter if an offer comes in.

Kudus is capable of playing up front too but a ruthless, traditional number nine would slot into this system perfectly being provided opportunities by the likes of Kudus, Jarrod Bowen, Said Benrahma and Lucas Paqueta.

If the right deal doesn’t appear in January then there is no rush considering the squad we currently have, but it shouldn’t be ignored for too long.

We will need a forward but the fact the club are already on the lookout for the right thing is a positive, and it’s possible that they could wait for the future of the manager to be solved first before making a final decision.