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West Ham was already thin enough at striker, so what now?

By Jeremiah Carson

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 05: Wes Harding of Birmingham City chases Xande Silva of West Ham United during the FA Cup Third Round match between West Ham United and Birmingham City at The London Stadium on January 5, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 05: Wes Harding of Birmingham City chases Xande Silva of West Ham United during the FA Cup Third Round match between West Ham United and Birmingham City at The London Stadium on January 5, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /
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The one position that West Ham United was already thin enough at is now even thinner due to back up forward, Chicharito departing for La Liga and Sevilla. What will the Hammers do now to fulfill that role?

Well to start off with good news, West Ham already has a solid backup forward with Albian Ajeti. Ajeti really hasn’t seen too much time with the Hammers but he seems primed and ready and clearly with the selling of Chicha, so does Pellegrini.

Hot. Love it or hate it, West Ham have found their best back-line. light

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So if that’s the good news, what’s the bad? The bad news is that besides Sebastien Haller and Ajeti, West Ham really doesn’t have any other strikers on the roster that are ready to go. Antonio, last year’s fill-in striker and super-sub is out until Christmas will a hamstring issue. Xande Silva is still out recovering from a bowel obstructing that happened right before the season started.

Another option would be to let Yarmolenko play at striker if the team really needed it. In his career, he has played forward or second striker 7 times scoring 3 times. His conversion rate is high for that scenario but in his career of playing 379 matches, 7 is only a blink of an eye in comparison.

So is Yarmolenko a possibility? Yes, but I for one don’t see it. Something I do see, however, is the earlier idea of Xande Silva so let’s move back to him. The Hammers got to see Silva in action for the senior squad twice. Once for 17′ against Burnley and then in an FA Cup match against Birmingham. He looked lively and strong but he just lacks the playtime and most likely confidence.

Next. Pure West Ham elation for Andriy Yarmolenko. dark

The best option in all of this is Silva. What I mean by that is with all luck, Haller and Ajeti stay healthy and the training staff can get Xande back this month and get him back up to speed. Because the only other option is to recall Jordan Hugill from his loan at QPR, where he is tearing it up, but many doubt he EPL readiness, as do I.