In the recent seasons, West Ham have struggled to sign a world class forward. After the departures of Mexican star Javier Hernandez and Austrian centre forward Marko Arnautovic, only Michail Antonio has been a consistent number nine for the club.
Under former manager David Moyes, West Ham made top signings like Sebastien Haller and Gianluca Scamacca, but both failed to justify their high transfer fee and were later sold to Ajax and Atalanta.
West Ham could have signed Argentina star under Moyes
However, David Moyes could have signed Argentina star Julian Alvarez as well. Speaking on Julian Alvarez, Moyes revealed that he was offered the opportunity to sign Alvarez in January 2022. However, Moyes wasn't really convinced with signing the forward and opted to sign Scamacca in June 2022.
Since arriving at Manchester City, Julian Alvarez has won the Premier League twice alongside winning the UEFA Champions League in 2023. The centre forward has scored 36 goals for Pep Guardiola's side playing in the second striker role alongside Erling Haaland.
For Argentina, Alvarez won the FIFA World Cup 2022 and recently won the Copa America 2024 as well. Now, after two seasons at City, Julian Alvarez is joining Atletico Madrid in a £81 million transfer move. City, on their part, received a huge transfer fee after signing Alvarez from River Plate for £14 million two years ago.
If West Ham have signed Julian Alvarez, they would have had a world class forward and could have received a huge transfer fee selling him to a top European club. This summarizes West Ham's struggles to bring in a quality striker in the recent seasons.
This summer, West Ham wanted Jhon Duran as a new number nine but Aston Villa's £40 million demand led the Hammers to sign Borussia Dortmund star Niclas Fullkrug instead. Fullkrug is expected to make his West Ham debut alongside new signing Cryscencio Summerville as they prepare to face Celta Vigo on the weekend.