West Ham linked with Bayern Munich’s Sandro Wagner

MIAMI, FL - JULY 28: Sandro Wagner #2 of Bayern Munich battles for a the ball with Douglas Luiz #39 and Eric Garcia #50 of Manchester City in the second half of the International Champions Cup at Hard Rock Stadium on July 28, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - JULY 28: Sandro Wagner #2 of Bayern Munich battles for a the ball with Douglas Luiz #39 and Eric Garcia #50 of Manchester City in the second half of the International Champions Cup at Hard Rock Stadium on July 28, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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West Ham have come up in rumors surrounding Bayern Munich back up striker Sandro Wagner. The striker is apparently looking for a move away from the German giants in search of more playing time. Would he be a good fit in East London?

With both Chicharito and Michail Antonio linked away from West Ham, Bayern Munich’s Sandro Wagner has been linked to the Hammers. Why? Because he is a physical striker who knows how to win an aerial battle in the box. German Andy Carroll?

The reason Wagner wants out of the German giant squad is for lack of playing time. In 8 games this season Wagner has only seen 226 minutes of action. In this stretch of games (all competitions), Wagner has only seen two starts as well.

The negatives to signing Wagner are pretty apparent. He isn’t an up-and-coming prospect as he is 30 years old, and he has also had next to no luck scoring for Germany’s premier team in the Bundesliga this season after a strong showing last year. If the price is right and a vacancy opens up at West Ham then these negatives could be overturned.

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The positives for Wagner are his size (6’4″) and skill set as a target man who can play with the ball at his feet. He was never going to unseat Robert Lewandowski at Bayern and if you view him as a starter Wagner has scored 1 goal for every two games he’s started. Bayern bought him as an insurance policy for their star striker but there is still a lot left for Wagner to provide with regular minutes.

Enter West Ham. The signing wouldn’t be one to build the team around, but if history has taught us anything it’s that Manuel Pellegrini likes to play with two strikers – one big man and one all-around playmaker. Andy Carroll is too injury prone to rely on but with Wagner either starting beside Marko Arnautovic or coming off the bench to relieve Carroll, West Ham could bully some teams defenses.

Wagner showed off his goalscoring an playmaking abilities last season for Germany and Hoffenheim/Bayern before and after his transfer. For Hoffenheim, he played in 17 games, scoring 6 times and adding 4 assists. Once at Bayern, Sandro converted 9 goals and 2 assists in 18 matches, proving when played he was effective.

Manuel Pellegrini has brought in young and old players in his one transfer window at West Ham. Players like Diop, Anderson, and Wilshere are players you can (if fit, Jack) build a team around, but he has also insulted the team with veteran signings like Yarmolenko, Sanchez, Balbuena, and Fabianski as well. Both hold importance to team success moving forward.

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The transfer for Wagner would essentially be along the same line as the Yarmolenko move. Veteran player, nose for the goal, attacking style of player, physical, international career, proven in Europe. People don’t get as excited when a transfer target isn’t 20 years old and isn’t going to play the next decade with the team, but I honestly like this rumor. As for Wagner, he is an effective striker who plays attacking football. I trust Pellegrini on this one and think another tower striker could help transform the team.