West Ham: Imagine Folarin Balogun and Ward-Prowse

West Ham are looking to reconfigure their attack…

West Ham United is searching for a consistent goal-scoring striker to complement their style of play, as previous signings have failed to acclimatize.
Cole Palmer has been added to the shortlist, but moving Jarrod Bowen from his successful position is a risk; West Ham needs a conventional striker.
Folarin Balogun is being considered as a potential signing and West Ham is conducting a thorough search across Europe and South America for striker targets.Once again, West Ham United find themselves on the hunt for a consistent, goal-scoring striker that can complement their style of play.Most notably, Sebastian Haller and Gianluca Scamacca failed to acclimatise to their surroundings in East London, with either failing to complete two full seasons for the Hammers.
In the club’s pursuit of attacking reinforcements, Cole Palmer has been added to the shortlist, with the Guardian’s Jacob Steinberg suggesting that David Moyes is considering playing Jarrod Bowen in a central role for the new campaign.

However, whilst Palmer would be an astute signing, moving Bowen out of the position where he has consistently excelled is a risk and West Ham need to be in for a conventional striker.

In this search, Folarin Balogun has been tipped to possibly fulfill this role.

What’s the latest on Folarin Balogun to West Ham?

According to Football Insider, West Ham will ‘prioritise the signing of a marquee striker’ once the double deal of James Ward-Prowse and Harry Maguire is completed.

The Englishmen are both on the verge of £30m moves to the London Stadium.

Read The Latest West Ham Transfer News HERE…

This outlet revealed that the Irons are conducting a thorough search, looking at potential striker targets across Europe and South America to avoid repeats of their past mistakes, with Balogun ‘on their radar.

The Arsenal youngster is not considering another loan spell and is keen to lay down roots at a permanent home with a better chance of regular minutes this summer.

Would Folarin Balogun be a good signing for West Ham?

The 22-year-old, who joined Arsenal’s youth setup in 2008, enjoyed a phenomenal breakout term last season with a series of stirring performances for Reims.

In 39 appearances across all competitions, the forward netted 22 goals, meaning he was the club’s top scorer and the division’s fifth-highest scorer, as per Transfermarkt.

Reims manager Will Still lauded the American’s influence and quality, saying: “He is a super complete striker, he is able to play with his back to goal, in-depth. It is technically very clean. He scores, he is decisive.”

To perform at his level and consistency in one of Europe’s top five leagues is a testament to his ability and has laid the foundation for the £30k-per-week prodigy to regularly feature at another top-flight side.

Mikel Arteta labelled the attacker’s time in France as “incredible” and feels he has “something special.” Unfortunately, Balogun is the victim of fierce competition for starting spots at the Emirates Stadium, with the Gunners already possessing the more senior and experienced trio of Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz, and Eddie Nketiah.

But, Balogun’s quest for minutes could land him across the capital at West Ham, where he could benefit from Ward-Prowse’s imminent arrival.

Last season, the Southampton captain recorded the most assists (four) and averaged the most key passes (1.9) per game, whilst also ranking within the top 16% in Europe’s top five leagues among his positional peers for shot-creating actions per 90.

In the Saints’ recent Championship opener against Sheffield Wednesday, the midfielder managed with 93% pass accuracy, created one big chance, made two key passes, won all ground duels, and recorded the all-important assist for Che Adams’ late winner, as per Sofascore.

When pairing Ward-Prowse’s offensive threat with Balogun’s effervescence and dynamism, the Hammers attack looks in a comfortable and threatening position.