West Ham United are on the hunt for attacking reinforcements and have identified one potential new face to add to Julen Lopetegui’s ranks in 2025, according to a report.
Goal-shy West Ham leave Lopetegui under early pressure
Six games into the Premier League season, West Ham have scored just six goals, the same number as 20th placed Wolves. After heavy spending over the summer, they have just one win to show for it, while Julen Lopetegui became the first West Ham boss in Premier League history to lose each of his first three home games.
None of his new signings have got their first goal in West Ham colours either, with Niclas Fullkrug, Crysencio Summerville and Carlos Soler all toiling without success.
It means that the Hammers are 14th in the Premier League with five points to their name, and will be hoping to see a large improvement in their next run of games, which include clashes with Ipswich Town, Nottingham Forest and Everton.
| West Ham’s goalscorers 24/25 | |
| Player | Goals |
| Tomas Soucek | 2 |
| Jarrod Bowen | 1 |
| Lucas Paqueta | 1 |
| Danny Ings | 1 |
| Own Goal | 1 |
| Other | 0 |
But clearly there is a problem at the top of the pitch, with Michail Antonio yet to open his account for the season and Danny Ings largely used from the substitutes bench, leaving the responsibility on Tomas Soucek to score the equaliser in their 1-1 draw with Brentford over the weekend.
At 31-years-old, £25m addition Fullkrug is not a long-term solution to their issues, and they remain on the hunt for a man to lead their line and finally take the mantle from Antonio, who has done so for the last decade but now looks well beyond his best. Now, they may have identified their man.
West Ham chasing Valencia star
That comes as Caught Offside claim that the Hammers are set to rival Aston Villa for the signature of highly-rated Valencia striker Hugo Duro in the upcoming transfer windows. The Spaniard, who has scored twice this season, is still just 24-years-old and is likely to improve in the years to come.
And that has caught the attention of both Aston Villa and West Ham, with the report claiming that the pair are “in a fierce battle” for his signature. The striker still has four years left to run on his £67,000 a week deal in Spain but is thought to be available for between €25m and €30m (£20.8m and £25m).
It is added that “manager Julen Lopetegui sees Duro’s energy and goal-scoring ability as a major potential asset” for the Hammers, who have looked docile in the final third, while they “have been impressed by the Spanish striker’s talents” and “are keen” to “sign him in the near future”.
It remains to be seen whether a transfer ultimately materialises, but following their failure to land Jhon Duran from Aston Villa over the summer there is clearly work still to be done on the Hammers frontline, and early form suggests that it is an issue that will need to be remedied sooner rather than later.