Pushing to land another important attacking addition, West Ham United are now reportedly leading the bidding war to sign a Serie A star for Graham Potter.
West Ham win first Summer Series game
Whilst pre-season is built around shaking off any rust with results for once of secondary importance, there’s no doubt that it still would have felt satisfying to defeat Everton in the Premier League Summer Series. And what made West Ham’s 2-1 victory even better was the winning goal from struggling striker Niclas Fullkrug.
The former Borussia Dortmund star endured a debut campaign to forget at the London Stadium, but could yet become a key man under Potter if he rediscovers his clinical nature in front of goal.
Fullkrug is certainly in a positive mood ahead of his first full season under Potter’s management too, having told West Ham’s official website following the Everton game: “The coach (Graham Potter) works with us not only on the pitch, but also to be a better group, to be a team and to be a family.
“We’re all enjoying our time together – in London, in Germany and now here in the US – and we’re starting to see the impact of what we’ve been doing. On the pitch, I think we’ve improved a lot.
“We still have work to do and not everything will be perfect right now, so we have to be patient. But I think we’re seeing what we’ve been working on all coming together.”
As the experienced forward said, however, nothing is perfect quite yet and that perfection could yet come courtesy of the transfer window. Having struggled to find a source for goals in large parts of last season, the Hammers are still reportedly on the hunt for a fresh No.9.
West Ham now leading Piccoli bidding war
According to TuttoCagliari, as relayed by Sport Witness, West Ham are now leading the bidding war to sign Roberto Piccoli from Cagliari this summer. Sporting director and club legend Mark Noble, alongside the rest of his team, has reportedly intensified West Ham’s contact with the Serie A club as they look to welcome the forward in a deal worth around €25m (£21m).
|
League stats 24/25 (via FBref) |
Piccoli |
Fullkrug |
|---|---|---|
|
Minutes |
3,127 |
790 |
|
Goals |
10 |
3 |
|
Assists |
1 |
2 |
|
Expected Goals |
12.7 |
2.2 |
Whilst there will be some concerns about how Piccoli underperformed in expected output, the forward still managed to reach double figures for goals in Serie A last season and West Ham could have done with those goals.
At just £21m too, if the Hammers can discover the 24-year-old’s clinical side, then pursuing a deal for his signature would quickly prove to be worthwhile alongside the already-arrived El Hadji Malick Diouf.
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It’s also key to point out that, even if Fullkrug is at his best in the coming campaign, he is already 32 years old and will need replacing sooner rather than later, no matter what. That makes this summer the best time to welcome a talent like Piccoli.
