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“No Excuses” | January Reinforcement Has Now Become Urgent

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I have little doubt there will be plenty of recriminations and finger-pointing at West Ham before the dust finally settles on the Niclas Füllkrug transfer.

The situation has been further complicated by reports that the £27m striker is unsettled in the UK. This means that even in the unlikely event of his returning from injury anytime soon, he doesn’t want to be here.

With that in mind, the Hammers must act quickly to line up a replacement forward in the January transfer window. The club must assume that Füllkrug will never play for West Ham again because anything less will leave the team completely outgunned and underprepared.

It would be ridiculous to enter the second half of the season relying solely on Danny Ings and Michail Antonio to lead the line. Nothing against either player, but the team desperately needs a young, fast, and energetic forward to add some menace to the West Ham attack.

At this point, action is essential. If FFP is an issue, someone has to be moved on, because excuses simply won’t cut it.

The investigation and recriminations over how the Hammers managed to waste millions on another unsuitable striker can wait. Playing the blame game now won’t fix a problem that needs solving immediately, with the club firmly entrenched in the bottom half of the Premier League.

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Kris Gonzo (commonly known to the West Ham community as Gonzo) is the co-founder of Hammers Chat (established 2014) and the lead video content creator and columnist for Claret and Hugh.

With over a decade of professional sports media experience, he is a frequent West Ham United analyst and contributor for Sky Sports News, BBC Football Focus, and BBC Radio 5 Live. He previously served as an official video and content creator for West Ham United FC during the club's tenure at Upton Park and featured in the official documentary commemorating the historic final game at the Boleyn Ground.

A lifelong Hammer since the legendary 10-0 victory over Bury, when he isn't providing daily match analysis on the Hammers Chat YouTube Channel or broadcasting on X (@GONZObignose), he can be found walking his dog and restoring classic pinball machines.

6 comments

  • Matt Palmer says:

    Best striker West Ham had during my lifetime was Dean Ashton. I consistently went into every game confident we would score and I haven’t felt like that since – perhaps a couple of brief purple patches under Moyes aside.

    Everyone lauded this transfer window but, with the exception of defensive reinforcements, it was quantity over quality and who was available rather than who we needed to fight for.

    Better not to sign Guilherme and or Rodriguez and focus the cash on a striker whilst perhaps keeping JWP

    • Taffyhammer says:

      Great judgement Matt Palmer. Dean Ashton was an outstanding class act. That Wright-Phillips stomp on Dean’s ankle at an England training session cost us dearly. We didn’t replace him because he was on the verge of a return and of course that never happened. Carlton tried his best but couldn’t hold a candle to the naturally gifted Deano.
      If only…….

  • Matt says:

    Sully just needs to take hard look in the mirror before January and point the finger at himself for JLo!

    We can’t stay loyal to Avram Grant’ version 2.0 🤡

  • Matt says:

    The amount of strikers we have signed since Sully must be approaching Sixty!

    The last decent one Sully signed was Demba Ba. That season Sully stayed loyal and honoured Avram Grant’s contract and we got relegated. Demba Ba then eft on a free transfer.

    As for the finger pointing at West Ham that has already been happening with all the writers on C&H!

    No mention of the years of miserable strikers signed by Sully but untold abuse for the solitary striker signed by Tim!

  • Clacton Rd Iron says:

    What we want to happen and what will happen are two totally different things.
    West Ham will never sigh a striker who is consistent in both Premiership quality and fitness. The last one we had, although maybe not an out and out striker was Paulo Di Canio. Before that all too fleetingly was John Hartson.
    They simply cost too much and Sully will never pay for one – will we reach a 100 buys/loans of complete inadequate striking turds and Salthouse clientele under the GSB era before that mini me parasite pops his clogs?

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