Strikerless West Ham fans react to Josh Maja debut brace

West Ham fans have made shown their anxiety on social media after Fulham striker Josh Maja grabbed himself a brace on his full debut for the Cottagers. The Hammers turned down the chance to sign a striker in the January window, leaving just an injury prone Michail Antonio the club’s only senior option.

David Moyes sanctioned the sale of Sebastien Haller to Ajax with the hope that the club could sign a striker that would “improve the first-team”. Though with previous errors in the club’s transfer policy, Moyes did not want to sign another flop and decided he would wait until the summer and evaluate the position then.

Josh Maja was one of the players that was available, and fans were in favour of signing. The striker was available on a six-month loan deal and would not have cost the club much in terms of wages. Almost a perfect option to challenge Antonio and provide adequate back-up between now and the end of the season.

Former West Ham target Josh Maja opened his goalscoring account for Fulham, as the striker bagged himself a brace against Everton.

Antonio is currently nursing a hamstring injury and could miss more games throughout the rest of the season. After the news of Andriy Yarmolenko’s injury woes, it could mean that the Hammers will have to turn to Ademipo Obudeko. The youngster has very little first-team expiereance and although he is highly rated it could be too early in his development to be given a staring role.

Fans were calling out for a back-up to be signed for the remainder of the season. There were no demands for a big-money signing, just a logical move for a player to compete with Antonio, something Maja would have done. Hammers were quick to point out the failings on social media.

There was one positive for West Ham about Maja’s goals for Fulham. The brace came against Hammer’s European rivals, Everton. The Toffees lost the game, meaning that if David Moyes’ side beat Sheffield United they would move five points ahead of Everton. This gap would give them some much-needed breathing room.

West Ham have had a successful season thus far, and its continuation will depend on Antonio’s fitness. If the striker does miss more games, then the Hammers could drop down the table, which begs the question of why not sign back-up when you had the chance?