West Ham could bolster struggling attack with £25 million De Bruyne-esque playmaker
- West Ham have had goalscoring struggles at the beginning of the season.
- Hammers could consider signing Serie A star Charles De Ketelaere.
In terms of their attack, West Ham find themselves in an unexpected situation at the beginning of the new season. Despite having a star studded front three of Jarrod Bowen, Mohammed Kudus and Lucas Paqueta, Julen Lopetegui's side have often struggled to create more goalscoring opportunities inside the final third.
Moreover, new signing Niclas Fullkrug is unavailable due to injury and Michail Antonio as well as Danny Ings don't possess much pace while going forward. Thus, West Ham may consider bringing in some reinforcements during the January transfer window to bolster their attack.
West Ham could bolster struggling attack with £25 million De Bruyne-esque playmaker
According to TeamTalk, the Hammers are considering a move to sign Atalanta's in-form creative playmaker Charles De Ketelaere. The 23-year-old oozes quality with his dribbling and blistering pace, and his game awareness and playmaking have seen several Premier League analysts draw comparisons with his Belgium teammate Kevin De Bruyne.
De Ketelaere joined Atalanta in a £25 million transfer move last season after an inconsistent debut season at Milan, and quickly became an integral part of Gianpiero Gasperini's side by registering 26 goal contributions in the previous season. The versatile playmaker can play in the front three as well, and his finishing makes him an impressive goalscorer inside the final third.
West Ham currently need an all-round flair midfielder who can provide some creativity and spark in their attack, thus signing De Ketelaere can be a smart decision from the Hammers. Moreover, the Belgium international played a key role for Atalanta in their UEFA Europa League win last season, which included some memorable performances against top European teams such as Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen.
However, West Ham will need to spend around £40 million transfer fee for signing De Ketelaere, and the Hammers may need to sell a few players first to raise necessary transfer funds. Further, De Ketelaere may be willing to joining a Champions League playing side such as Liverpool and Arsenal next season, thus, may not be open to join West Ham midway through the season.
Thus, West Ham should try to convince De Ketelaere by giving him a regular starter role in order to secure his signature. Further, if West Ham forwards start scoring more goals in the Premier League, Julen Lopetegui's side may not need a new forward in January.
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Thus, it remains to be seen whether Charles De Ketelaere joins West Ham in the upcoming years.
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