For all of West Ham’s eventual good business in the transfer market last summer, the one area in which they didn’t strengthen – up front – could come back to haunt them.
After allowing Gianluca Scamacca to leave with a few weeks of the window left, there was time for David Moyes to bring in another front man to play alongside or instead of Michail Antonio and Danny Ings.
One name that was extensively mentioned towards the end of the window was Paris Saint-Germain’s Hugo Ekitike, however, the striker ended up staying put at the Parc des Princes.
That’s looking more and more like it was the wrong decision as L’Equipe (subscription required) have noted that Luis Enrique is now likely to sanction a January move for the player.
What that does too is open up the possibility of Moyes going back in for the 21-year-old, to help ensure that the successes of last season weren’t just a flash in the pan.
At present, the Hammers are holding their own in the Premier League, and they sit joint second with Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham, all of whom are two points behind leaders, Man City.
They have another European campaign to attend to from next week, but with only Michail Antonio and Danny Ings as their recognised centre-forwards, an injury to either at this early stage could be fatal to their chances of success.
Acquiring a talent such as Ekitike not only lightens the attacking load, but it brings a competition for places that the east Londoners just don’t have at the moment.
