Is this West Ham’s ‘dream’ strike force this season?

It seems most of our transfer activity so far this summer has revolved around strikers.

My last count had us linked with at least seven forwards already and we’re bound to have several more names linked with us before the season gets underway.

Diafra Sakho, Enner Valencia, Andy Carroll and Mauro Zarate currently make up our strike force, while you could even include Modibo Maiga in that list.

But the club, and Slaven Bilic, clearly believe the front line needs further strengthening.

So here’s a look at what our potential ‘dream’ strike force would be this season. It’ll include all the strikers we could/should have on our books next season, bearing in mind we’re going to need to a big squad and will definitely need to utilise rotation if we’re going to enjoy a successful season…

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Diafra Sakho

Our number one guy.

Sakho’s impact upon arriving at the club last summer was phenomenal, and he made stepping up from the Ligue 2 in France to the Premier League look seamless.

Injuries prevented him from building on his early season goal scoring form, but there’s no doubting he’ll be hugely important for us again this season. All he’s got to do is keep fit and he should get 20+ goals.

Charlie Austin

Reports claim we’re serious about brining Charlie Austin to east London this summer, and if we do then he’ll no doubt be a huge addition to our strike force.

He scored for fun for QPR last season despite being relegated and he proved he’s of Premier League quality. He’ll undoubtedly want to make the jump to a side competing in Europe and he’ll need to be playing in the top flight if he’s going to have a chance of going to the European Championships in France next summer with England.

Enner Valenica

Enner didn’t have the best of debut seasons last term, but he deserves another chance to prove he’s worth what we paid for him.

And under a new manager we might see a different Valencia and, hopefully, more of his stunning finishing ability that we briefly saw a glimpse of last season.

If we don’t sell him for a ridiculous fee then I think he’ll still be an important member of our squad next season.

Mauro Zarate

It was pretty obvious that Zarate and Allardyce didn’t get on, which is mostly why he ended up being shipped out to QPR last season.

Before that, though, he did show glimpses of quality when given the chance, and he scored a couple of very good goals.

Under Bilic he’ll get another chance at the club and he’ll no doubt thrive in a competitive side with an attacking philosophy.

Andy Carroll

Let’s face it, when Carroll is fit and on form he’s unstoppable.

We’ve all seen what he’s capable of on his day and if he can keep fit (for once!) he’ll be a deadly fixture in our strike force.

Rumours have him linked with a return to Newcastle, but given that he’s just had a baby with his missus you can’t imagine he’d be willing to up sticks and move back up north right now.

Demba Ba

This rumour has gone a bit quiet recently but having Demba Ba back at the club would be a huge boost to our chances in Europe.

He thrived under Bilic at Besiktas last season and he guarantees you goals.