The Julen Lopetegui era is up and running, with victory at Crystal Palace on Saturday rooting the idea that West Ham United could enjoy a terrific campaign.
West Ham's new head coach has fielded the same starting line-up for the opening two weeks, losing at home against Aston Villa before claiming three points at Villa Park, with several fresh faces still waiting for their first starting berth.
There have been some impressive performers over the past few weeks, but not everyone has coated themselves in glory, with Michail Antonio particularly sub-par in both matches.
West Ham lining up Michail Antonio upgrade
Niclas Fullkrug was signed from Borussia Dortmund in a £27m package earlier this month, with the 31-year-old German carrying the strong and authoritative striking style to make a real difference in this West Ham team.
But it might be wise to strengthen further, especially since Danny Ings has been mooted to leave before the window closes on Friday evening. Antonio, 34, is clearly on the decline.
As such, there might be something in rumours that the Hammers are going to push for Tammy Abraham. According to Corriere dello Sport – Sunday edition, via Sport Witness – contacts have been made over the potential deal, with Roma hoping for €25m (£21m).
An initial loan signing is not out of the question, and while West Ham haven't yet presented an official offer for the 26-year-old, that could all change in the coming days.
What Tammy Abraham would bring to West Ham
Abraham missed the majority of last season due to a knee injury cruelly suffered in the final game of the 2022/23 campaign, only scoring once and starting twice in Serie A.
Still, the 11-cap England international is a proven goalscorer with an athletic style, and he could be Fullkrug's perfect counterweight at the front of the Irons ship, having been praised by Rio Ferdinand in the past for his "[Didier] Drogba-esque" approach.
"I saw elements in Tammy's game today that I hadn't seen as much as I'd have liked to. His hold-up play, coming to the ball and bringing others into play.
“First half, one ball went up to him, Didier Drogba-esque, chests it down for someone, runs on for the next phase – I think he's developing nicely. He's scoring goals, he's scoring different types of goals and I think he's a threat.”
AS Roma
120 (86)
37
13
Chelsea
82 (51)
30
10
Bristol City
48 (42)
26
4
Aston Villa
40 (40)
26
3
Swansea City
39 (21)
8
4
Abraham scores goals, and while he only bagged a nine-goal haul across 54 matches the season before, starting 35 times, he netted 27 times the year before, his first in Italy after signing from Chelsea for a £34m fee, en route to winning the Conference League.
Of course, his taste for European silverware was borne from his time at Stamford Bridge, winning the Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup during his time in west London, and given West Ham's own continental success in recent years, he might be the perfect addition.
And anyway, the "goal machine", as he has been praised in the past by former footballer and coach Stephen Elliott, would join a Hammers team replete with attacking talent, perhaps even coming to forge a deadly partnership with Mohammed Kudus.
Imagine him & Mohammed Kudus
Kudus has been with West Ham for one year now, signing from Ajax for a £38m fee late in August last year, and it's safe to say that he's held in high regard in east London.
Hailed as a "generational talent" by journalist Gary Al-Smith, Kudus is a purveyor of electric dribbling, utterly breathtaking in his breakneck movements up the field, ranking among the top 1% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for successful take-ons per 90 (3.97), as per FBref.
That basically means that Kudus dribbles, and he does it well. The Ghanaian winger has completed nine dribbles and won 20 duels across his opening two games of the Lopetegui regime and adds so much to the team, stretching lines and causing mayhem.
He scored 14 goals and added six assists during his first year in London, and could rise to the next level with a striker like Abraham in front of him.
Kudus isn't the most relentless of playmakers but his off-the-ball qualities add as much value as any through-balling No. 10 might. Abraham, as discussed earlier, offers excellent link-up play and has some nifty footwork besides, averaging a key pass per game over his opening two seasons in Serie A to highlight that additional dimension.
Overlapping and darting inside, Kudus varies his penetrative runs but will succeed wherever he opts to move toward, and for a striker blessed with the intelligence and spatial awareness of Abraham, it could be a terrific duo indeed.
Abraham was once predicted to become "one of the best strikers in the world" by Roma skipper Lorenzo Pellegrini, with his long-term injury and a team nosedive in form and fluency toward the end of Jose Mourinho's tenure derailing his hype.
But the 6 foot 3 centre-forward is both rangy and dynamic, offering plenty of qualities that Lopetegui's outfit could benefit from. Given that the objective this term is to fight to reclaim a place in Europe, hopefully scoring a top-six finish to return to the Europa League, West Ham would be wise to get this deal done.
After all, Abraham is a tried-and-tested goalscorer, and could prove to be a real menace alongside Kudus, whose quality would bring the best out of any forward worth their salt, but might just find a special connection with this one…
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ByTom CunninghamAug 24, 2024