Stoke City v Bournemouth EFL Sky Bet Championship 02/01/2021. AFC Bournemouth forward Joshua King 27 during the EFL Sky Bet Championship match between Stoke City and Bournemouth at the Bet365 Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent, England on 2 January 2021. Stoke-on-Trent Bet365 Stadium Staffordshire England Editorial use only DataCo restrictions apply See www.football-dataco.com PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxUK , Copyright: xkevinxWarburtonx-xAxMomentxinxSportx PSI-11559-0128
According to The Sun, West Ham have reignited their interest in Joshua King after the departure of Sebastien Haller. The Hammers were after the Bournemouth forward since summer and had bids turned down for him. Interest from Newcastle and West Brom has driven King’s valuation up to £15million.
Sebastien Haller has left West Ham to join Ajax. The club record signing, who arrived in 2019, leaves just after one and a half seasons. While Haller came with so much promise, he simply couldn’t make his mark in England. He was afforded enough chances but failed to take them.
David Moyes has had to turn to Michail Antonio on most occasions to bail his side out. Antonio did the best he could but it was clear that another prolific striker was needed. Clearly, Haller was not even getting close to that.
Now that Haller has moved on, it leaves the club woefully short on centre-forwards, with Michail Antonio being the only recognised name. Another striker is an immediate requirement.
Joshua King may be a solution to their problems. The Bournemouth striker is an experienced man in the Premier League and has been quite prolific for his team despite the team’s form and quality. With his contract running out, the Hammers can look to take advantage of the situation.
Signed by Bournemouth in 2016, King has registered decent numbers for the Cherries so far. He has played 178 games to date, scoring 50 goals and providing 17 assists. (h/t Transfermarkt) The only drawback in this signing would be his inconsistency.
Apart from that, West Ham should definitely be pursuing King given his exploits for Bournemouth over the last few seasons. It would give some depth to the attack and even provide competition to Antonio, who is the undisputed starter in his role.
King may not be the most attractive option for West Ham and Moyes but he is likely to be available at a decent price of £15million.