Time for Mubama !

What is it about West Ham and strikers?

We seem to be cursed as we continually spend big money trying to get it right but invariably end up with expensive flops. A couple of months ago CandH did a piece on the twenty , yes twenty! worse strikers we have bought in the Premier League era.

The jury is still out on Gianluca Scamacca , who is in danger of being another one to be added on to the list, the Italian scored just the three times in the Premier League , although to be fair to him, he was injured and missed half the season. Nevertheless, he and our Supremo seem to have fallen out and is being strongly linked with a return to Serie A with both Roma and AC Milan.

The newly thatched Danny Ings ( the papers reported that he has recently had a hair transplant) – I don`t know if his new coiffure will help his scoring prowess but at least he will look smarter in the team photographs. Will he stay? And more to the point do we need him?

Big Mikey Antonio, a stalwart for so many seasons is apparently unsettled at the London Stadium and is angling for a move.

So inevitably, the Irons will be looking for at least a couple of new forwards this season.

But we do have a hot prospect under our very noses  – the 18 year old Divin Mubama.

A relative unknown until this last campaign when he finally made his breakthrough into the West Ham first-team squad.

Mubama made his first team start for the Hammers back in November 2022 in a UEFA Europa Conference League clash against FCSB of Romania, which came after his Erling Haaland-like run of 16 goals in 21 under-18’s matches in 2021-22 and the usual shortage of options in attack for David Moyes.

By the end of last season, Mubama had played six times for the first-team, scored his first ever senior goal and had netted 13 times in 11 under-18’s matches, as well as banging in 13 goals for the under-21’s in 20 Premier League 2 outings.

Mubama has relished the step up and he is likely to have a start tonight in our game at Boreham Wood.

A cracking prospect, we really should give him more game time.