Moyes reveals why West Ham didn’t sign a new striker in January

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 2 min read

West Ham manager David Moyes claims that the club did not sign a new striker in the January transfer window because he made the call not the waste the money.

Earlier in the window, the Hammers sold Sebastien Haller to Ajax for £20 million (€22.5m), leaving them with just one recognised centre-forward in the squad in Michail Antonio, who himself is a converted winger.

Following the sale, West Ham were linked with numerous attackers to come in as a replacement for the 26-year-old.

They reportedly bid a few times for Sevilla striker Youssef En-Nesyri, only for Sevilla to reject their advances, while Reims’ Boulaye Dia, Bournemouth’s Josh King, Southampton’s Danny Ings, and even former player Marko Arnautovic were all linked with a return.

In the end, attacking midfielder Jesse Lingard was brought in on loan from Man Utd as their only reinforcement in the forward area.

Moyes says he opted not to sanction a £20m+ deal for a new player as he didn’t want to buy someone for West Ham he wasn’t totally convinced by.

“It has been well documented that we don’t have a lot of other options,” the former Man Utd and Everton boss said before West Ham’s FA Cup clash with the Red Devils this week.

“We’re well aware of that and we chose to do it. I didn’t want to waste £15-20million ($27m) on something I wasn’t sure about so that was the option I chose to take.”

With Antonio remaining the only option for a recognised striker role, he has started to collect niggling injuries due to fatigue, and Moyes provided an update on his fitness ahead of the Man Utd game.

“It will be a close call whether he makes it or not,” he said.

“We’ll need to assess him tomorrow to see if he is able to play.”

The Hammers are enjoying an excellent season under Moyes, as they are currently placed sixth in the Premier League just one point adrift of the Champions League qualification spots.