West Ham lining up swap deal to sign 23-year-old impressive striker

Recently, West Ham faced a huge 3-0 Premier League defeat against Nottingham Forest where the visitors gave a massive underwhelming performance despite securing a last-minute 2-1 win over Manchester United last week. The defence couldn't maintain their defensive solidity in front of the hosts, who regularly created a lot of empty spaces behind the West Ham midfield.

While Julen Lopetegui's tactical setup to play defensive fullback Aaron Wan-Bissaka as a right midfielder was a huge reason for West Ham's defensive struggles inside the box, the attack couldn't create much goalscoring chances throughout the match. Jarrod Bowen was played as a centre forward alongside Lucas Paqueta and Cryscencio Summerville, with the latter being replaced by Michail Antonio in the second half.

West Ham lining up swap deal to sign 23-year-old impressive striker

Both Paqueta and Antonio haven't been convincing this season in the front three, which was again the case in this match and the home side registered a massive 3-0 win over the Hammers. This match has highlighted West Ham's lack of a prolific goalscorer in the squad, and West Ham would have to consider signing a few players in the January transfer window, if their goalscoring issues couldn't be resolved in the next few matches.

Therefore, one of the players West Ham should consider bringing in their squad is 23-year-old Brazil striker Igor Jesus. Igor joined Botafogo in the summer transfer window and since then, has scored five league goals this season. Moreover, Igor found the back of the net in the Copa Libertadores semi-finals against Penarol, to guide Botafogo to the final as well.

The 23-year-old’s impressive performances for Botafogo were rewarded with a Brazil international debut last month, and Igor scored the 1-1 equaliser in that match to lead Brazil to a comeback 2-1 win against Chile. Igor possesses a great heading ability and his world-class positioning and finishing inside the box helps him to score a lot of goals for both club and country.

West Ham need a similar profile young and athletic striker at the club, and the Hammers could consider involving Lucas Paqueta in the transfer move as part of a swap deal as well. This would allow them to improve their centre forward position while also making a few signings to strengthen their midfield. Now, it remains to be seen whether Igor Jesus joins the Hammers in the January transfer window or West Ham decide to sign any other in-form goalscorer.