David Moyes must urge David Sullivan to increase his efforts to strike a deal for West Ham United to sign VfB Stuttgart striker Sasa Kalajdzic.
What’s the word?
While speaking with Give Me Sport, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano claimed that the Irons are still undecided on which centre-forward to target in the next transfer window.
West Ham are expected to be active in the off-season looking to improve Moyes’ offensive options, having opted against pursuing deals in January following Sebastien Haller’s move to AFC Ajax.
Should West Ham target Stuttgart’s Kalajdzic?
Yes, he’d be perfect
No, he isn’t good enough
Kalajdzic has emerged as a potential option to support Michail Antonio at the London Stadium next season, with reports suggesting the towering 6 ft 6 target man is seen as a cheaper option than Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham or Abdallah Sima of Slavia Prague.
Stuttgart are cited to value Kalajdzic at between €20m and €25m (£17m-£21.5m), with interest not only from West Ham but also RB Leipzig and AS Roma. Premier League duo Everton and Newcastle United, plus Serie A side Juventus, have also been linked.
Romano believes Kalajdzic is indeed on the Irons’ radar, but does not feel the 13-goal frontman is the leading candidate at this stage.
“Yes, he is one of the players that they are looking for,” Romano said. “Obviously, they have a list with names as a striker. They were looking for [Youssef] En-Nesyri from Sevilla in January but Sevilla say no, and let’s see what happens in the summer.
“They’re looking for an important striker, so West Ham wants to do something with a good striker this summer, let’s see if he could be an option. For sure [he’s] in the list, but at the moment there is still nothing decided, they will decide at the end of the season.
“Also because of the opportunities, you know, probably one of the clubs will find a new striker and could derive a new opportunity for West Ham.”
Should West Ham sign Stuttgart’s Kalajdzic?
West Ham’s need for another centre-forward is very apparent and will see that the east London outfit will have to spend in the summer, but it clearly remains to be seen if those funds will be used to sign Kalajdzic.
The Stuttgart striker should sit highly on Moyes and Sullivan’s shopping list, though, as the 23-year-old can provide West Ham a plug-and-play option who should be capable of hitting the ground running from the get-go.
Kalajdzic is thriving in the Bundesliga this term with 13 goals in 25 games to sit sixth in the scoring charts during his first year of German top-flight football, and on the back of an injury-plagued 2019/20 campaign.
His success has come in a system not too dissimilar to how West Ham operate under Moyes, with Kalajdzic enjoying a lethal relationship with left-back Borna Sosa. The Croatian’s pinpoint deliveries have created four of the 23-year-old’s goals, marking the fourth-best partnership in the Bundesliga this term.
The Irons would expect to see Kalajdzic frequently dispatch headers to the net at the London Stadium next season if signed in the summer, with Aaron Cresswell the club’s leading playmaker with seven assists in 29 Premier League games this term.
Cresswell has further offered the highest number of accurate crosses (47) by a Hammers player, as well as the highest number of inaccurate deliveries (122), struck the highest number of accurate free-kicks (50) and corners (26) and misplaced a combined 56 set pieces, per WhoScored.
Kalajdzic would surely thrive with Cresswell creating chances for him week in week out, making it necessary for Moyes to urge Sullivan to begin taking action and move to edge out the increasing interest.
AND in other news, West Ham eye 10-goal livewire who destroyed David Moyes’ side last year…