Munas Dabbur (Getty Images)
Back in January, a report from TMW (h/t MARCA English) had claimed that West Ham were interested in signing Israeli international striker Munas Dabbur, who was plying his trade with Sevilla back then. However, nothing came to fruition and the 28-year-old eventually put an end to his nightmarish spell at Sevilla by completing a move to Hoffenheim in Germany.
Munas Dabbur started his professional career with Maccabi Ahi Nazareth and established himself as a prolific goalscorer in the Israeli Premier League after moving to Maccabi Tel Aviv. The striker’s growing reputation in his homeland paved the way for a move to Swiss club Grasshopper in January 2014, where Dabbur went on to score 56 goals in 105 appearances over two-and-a-half-seasons.
The Israeli hitman was snapped up by Red Bull Salzburg in 2016 and eventually went on to fire the Austrian giants to three consecutive domestic titles. Dabbur also made a big impression in the Europa League, bagging 12 goals en route to the club’s march to the semi-finals of the competition in 2017-18.
Dabbur’s heroics in the Europa League prompted Sevilla to take a punt on him in 2019 but he played just 24 minutes of league football during what proved to be an ill-fated stint in Andalusia. The 28-year-old joined Hoffenheim in January 2020 and has since bagged 12 goals in 27 appearances for the German club in all competitions.
West Ham have enjoyed a promising start to the campaign after somehow staving off relegation last term. The Hammers currently sit 7th in the standings after accumulating 17 points from their 11 opening league fixtures, winning 5 games in the process. David Moyes’ side have scored 18 goals so far while conceding 14 in the process, which indicates that they have fared fairly well at both ends of the pitch.
However, the East London outfit should continue to keep tabs on potential targets with less than four weeks remaining before the start of the January window. Moyes has brought in some quality players like Tomas Soucek, Vladimir Coufal, Said Benrahma and Jarrod Bowen since taking charge but there is still plenty of room for improvement if West Ham are to challenge for a Europa League spot.
Putting things into context, the Hammers making a renewed attempt to sign Munas Dabbur in January would hand a welcome boost to their centre-forward ranks.
Michail Antonio and Bowen have been the key goal contributors for the club in the final third but with Sebastian Haller failing to live up to the expectations, the door remains open for the Hammers to bring in another out-and-out striker to bolster that department.
The vastly-experienced Israeli international has rebuilt his reputation as a quality goalscorer at Hoffenheim in January following a disappointing spell at Sevilla.
Dabbur’s overall career record of 166 goals and 71 assists in 347 appearances clearly underlines his ability to score as well as create goals for his teammates. Those qualities should make him a fine addition to West Ham’s ranks for the coming seasons.
Suffice to say, West Ham can certainly do with some additional firepower in front of goal moving forward and Munas Dabbur fits the bill as a striker with proven pedigree in Europe. The Israeli star still has several years remaining in his prime at 28, making him more than worth a punt for Moyes in the winter market.
