West Ham sign Albian Ajeti, Sebastien Haller’s back up striker

The Hammers complete a deadline day signing with Swiss international striker Albian Ajeti coming aboard. He’ll back up Sebastien Haller as West Ham’s number two striker heading into the season.

Yes, you read that correctly. West Ham should and will likely look to Albian Ajeti as their backup striker heading into the season to either play alongside Sebastien Haller or replace him as a substitute. This means Chicharito is subjected to the bench, which completely makes sense.

Pellegrini was desperate for a striker to fill out the team, and Ajeti signs on a four-year deal for a very low transfer fee of just £8m plus £3m of add-ons set based on Premier League starts. The deal is low-risk, high-reward and exactly what West Ham needed to do to support Haller up top.

What the Hammers are getting in Ajeti is a natural goal scorer and a player who consistently gets in dangerous areas to impact the game. His speed is impressive and his elusiveness in the box allows him to drift away from coverage and win headers at just 6′ tall.

He’ll be most impactful playing off of the talented playmakers that fill West Ham’s midfield. A ton of Ajeti’s goals come from slicing runs through the backline and one-touch finishing that doesn’t give defenders a chance to catch up to him. Fornals, Lanzini, Wilshere, and Anderson eat your heart out.

His numbers match his highlights, as the 22-year-old has an impressive goal total in his young career. He’s played one match for FC Basel this season scoring and adding two assists, while also playing in two Champions League qualifiers where he scored one goal.

His hot start to this season was preceded by an awesome season as well. The striker played in 43 matches last year racking up 21 goals and eight assists. His high assist numbers are also enticing as the West Ham squad he is stepping into have some deadly finishers at forward and in the midfield.

As seen in the tweet above, questions are being asked over Ajeti and Chicharito’s positioning in the squad. To be completely honest, the only way Chicharito starts for West Ham is initially as a secondary striker or if an injury hits the first team. He’s a very one-dimensional player but is effective, so the conversation has to be had.

Chicharito is out of contract at the end of the season and shouldn’t have as much time invested in him opposed to Ajeti who is a player for now and the future. The Hammers Poll poll, at the time of posting, supported this sentiment with 71% of voters picking Ajeti over Chicharito.

The firepower up top is exciting and Ajeti is poised to become a fan favorite with his finishing ability. I look forward to his impact now and to what he can develop into under Pellegrini at West Ham!