West Ham could be on the verge of missing out on one of their January striker targets, according to The Sun’s Alan Nixon.
It was reported last month that the Hammers were keen on Middlesbrough striker Emmanuel Latte Lath, who has scored 27 goals in 62 appearances for the Championship outfit.
The 26-year-old’s agent has been very vocal about his client’s ambitions to move away from the Riverside Stadium and even posted a photo of West Ham’s Rush Green training ground on his Instagram stories.
Jarrod Bowen‘s recent injury – a fractured foot bone which is expected to keep the Hammers skipper sidelined for at least six weeks – and Michail Antonio being ruled out for the rest of the season means Julen Lopetegui simply needs to recruit another striker in the January transfer window.
Otherwise, he will need to put all his faith in Niclas Fullkrug and Danny Ings to fire West Ham to a respectable finish in the Premier League.
While it had been reported that Middlesbrough would be open to selling Latte Lath in the winter window, it wasn’t clear how much they would be willing to accept for his signature.
But it now appears we know the answer to that question, with Nixon claiming on his Patron that Leicester City have had a £12m bid accepted for the striker, who talkSPORT reporter and Middlesbrough author Phil Spencer once described as “a hell of a finisher.”
Emmanuel Latte Lath is brilliant.
Pacey, chaotic, a hell of a finisher and even better, someone who leads the team from the front.
I love watching him geeing up his teammates and making demands of them – he’s turning into a truly prolific striker and I love it.#Boro #UTB
— Phil Spencer (@PhilSpenc23) April 22, 2024
Indeed, that doesn’t mean West Ham have missed out on the striker, but it does mean Tim Stiedten will have to move quickly in an attempt to hijack his imminent discussions with the Foxes.
To be frank, £12m for a player who has been one of the best goal scorers in the Championship over the last two seasons is a bargain.
West Ham has had great success investing in players from the Championship over the years. Antonio, Bowen, and Aaron Cresswell were all signed from the second tier and have gone on to make over 900 appearances for the club, scoring a combined 160 goals.
Crysencio Summerville is the latest addition from the Championship and he’s shown enough promise in the first half of last season to suggest he’ll also come good in claret and blue.
So, the opportunity to sign another player from the Championship for a relatively cheap fee should not be sniffed at.
Latte Lath has also been described by Football League World as “one of the best strikers in the Championship” while his manager, Michael Carrick, said of him last season: “We’ve hoped and known the potential he had and his strengths and attributes.
“He’s had a really incredible patch in terms of scoring goals and there’s no reason he can’t build on that going into next year.”
The Ivorian has scored nine goals and assisted two more in the Championship this season, building on the 16 league goals and one assist he registered last term.
