West Ham's striker search narrowed down to 'fantastic' forward and player with 'really good movement'

West Ham’s striker search is likely to come down to two players with the search now being narrowed down. Al-Nassr are closing in on Aston Villa’s Jhon Duran, a player the Hammers bid £57million for, though since that bid was rejected, the Irons have been focusing on other targets in any case.

The search goes on for Graham Potter, who is determined to add another attacker after losing Niclas Fullkrug for at least a few weeks. And it seems like his preferred option is to link up with an old favourite from his Brighton days.

TalkSport say West Ham’s primary target at this stage is Brighton striker Evan Ferguson, although Bournemouth, Tottenham, Everton and others are all said to be in the race for the frontman. Agreeing a deal with Brighton is another story, especially given it would need to trump any offers from those other clubs.

The same report also claims West Ham have already agreed personal terms with Ajax striker Brian Brobbey, with a £100,000-per-week wage on the table, but a deal has not been agreed with Ajax. Ajax want a permanent sale so that they can replace Brobbey, but the Hammers are only willing to do a loan deal initially.

Elsewhere, RB Leipzig frontman Andre Silva is also said to be on the list, with Hammers making an enquiry, but he is not the preferred option over Ferguson nor Brobbey.

Brobbey and Ferguson verdicts

Brobbey has made 29 appearances across all competitions this season, scoring three times and providing seven assists. His Ajax boss Francesco Farioli said after one performance earlier this season: “I think the one (goal) from Brian [Brobbey] for a thousand reasons, because he did a fantastic job for me once again. He was a bit unlucky in the first half. He had two very good assists and everybody wants him to score, so to make him free inside [was good]. It is the second match in a row that he is doing really well, with a bigger team spirit and a lot of sacrifice. He recovered a lot of balls and was fantastic in the press. As I said, he provided two assists but it was important to put the ball into the net.”

As for Ferguson, Potter has obviously worked with the striker previously at Brighton, and back in 2022, he said of the Irishman: "Evan is a young guy but he's got a big future. I've been really impressed with him in training. He's got really good movement and you can see his quality. His goals, they’re not by accident, that’s for sure. He knows where to be in the box and around the defenders.

"The more he's with us, the better he'll get I think. The guys in the academy have done a fantastic job with him. Now, he’s in that next stage and we’ve to take it at the right pace for him. But obviously when he’s in the first team, it's a good experience for him."

For your next West Ham read, West Ham target to be sold for just £2m more than Hammers offered