West Ham wanted to bring a new centre forward in the summer transfer window and thus, set their sights on Aston Villa's Jhon Duran. Despite agreeing personal terms with the 20-year-old, a transfer move to bring him to the London Stadium didn't materialise and the Hammers had to consider other alternatives. West Ham decided to sign Germany international Niclas Fullkrug as their new striker but were also interested in his Borussia Dortmund teammate as well.
The player is Dortmund forward Karim Adeyemi, who joined the Bundesliga side from Salzburg in the 2022 summer transfer window. Widely touted to become a quality forward for the Germany national team, Adeyemi has shown his huge potential despite being inconsistent with scoring goals in his first two seasons at the club. However, Adeyemi is a talented 22-year-old forward who impressed with his brilliant display in the 2024 UEFA Champions League final against Real Madrid.
West Ham transfer target scores first half hat-trick in the Champions League
Recently, the promising forward gave another brilliant Champions League performance with a first half hat-trick to lead Borussia Dortmund to a massive 7-1 win over Celtic. Alongside that, Adeyemi has started the new season on a high note with two goals and three assists in the first five Bundesliga matches. Thus, West Ham wanted to sign the versatile forward to provide much spark and creativity into their attack.
Moreover, the Hammers have been largely inconsistent in scoring goals this season, and Adeyemi's signing would have helped Julen Lopetegui's side to create more chances inside the final third. However, that isn't the case, and West Ham will have to implement a new tactical setup that gives them more flexibility and goal scoring options in the attack. Also, it remains to be seen whether the Hammers decide to sign Adeyemi in the January transfer window if the 22-year-old forward continues his prolific form throughout the season.