West Ham United should sign £18m-rated Genk forward Paul Onuachu in January, who was heavily linked to the Hammers in the summer.
According to several reports over the most recent transfer window, via All Nigeria Soccer and Voetbal Belgie, the 27-year-old striker was on David Moyes’ radar.
The club was linked with a plethora of strikers throughout summer, but Onuachu stood out as the one to sign.
However, it was clear to see that Genk were unwilling to sell their star man, and the Hammers must up the tempo if they want to acquire his signature.
This especially comes after the Nigerian forward signed a new contract with the Belgian side last week, extending his deal until 2024 – despite him previously saying that he wanted to leave the club.
The 6ft 6in striker scored an enormous 35 goals for his team last season and produced five assists in 41 games in total. He hasn’t slowed down either.
Onuachu has also started this season off superbly, showing that his scoring abilities are no fluke. So far he has netted 11 times in 13 games, nine of them coming from just eight league matches in Belgium.
His physical stature and ability to move off the ball is one of the main reasons why he gets so many goals. The talisman knows how to finish and for a man of his size, he can control and pass the ball very well.
This would be perfect in West Ham’s setup. The likes of Aaron Cresswell and Vladimir Coufal would help unlock his aerial threat in the Premier League and others will make runs off him so he can get in a good scoring position.
It is no secret that the Hammers need another striker to back up Michail Antonio. The Jamaica international has been incredible this season but is also an injury risk. The likes of Jarrod Bowen have stepped up to the role in the past but West Ham must invest further in this area of the squad in January.
The only negative to moving for Onuachu in January would be that, should the Hammers progress to the knock-out stages of the Europa League, the striker would be cup-tied having already featured for Genk in West Ham’s group, and David Moyes will be able to get a first-hand look at his previous target over the next month as we face the Belgium outfit twice.
Despite that, if West Ham were to sign Paul Onuachu he has the potential to be a great signing for the club and, at the rate he’s going, others will be interested in his services soon as well.
